photo by Ayla Maagdenberg; photo courtesy of Joëtta Zoetelief

Single Review of Joëtta: “Talk to Me”

You first read about Joëtta at this blog when I reviewed “Better Than Me,” the single from Wiens Lief, the Netherlands-based trio of which Joëtta comprised one-third.

Joëtta’s sweet, wistful voice at the beginning of “Talk to Me” quickly shows a warmth and texture. The song itself is somewhat staccato, haltingly moving forward, dripping like water and like the lyric’s thoughts through most of the song, allowing even a small rush of tempo and addition of richer instrumentation to feel like a significant build in power. “Talk to Me” uses its expansive musical open space to create intimacy, and it’s over all too soon. A house concert, a coffeehouse (but hopefully a quiet one), even a larger performance space with great acoustics; these would all be ideal locations to hear this song performed live.

Looking Back: “Here”

photo by Ayla Maagdenberg; photo courtesy of Joëtta Zoetelief

“Talk to Me” is Joëtta’s second single; it’s a follow-up to “Here.” After a sparse 15 second intro, “Here” is a bit more uptempo and gets the blood flowing a little following “Talk to Me.” Joëtta uses a richer, fuller – yet still high and sweet – vocal on “Here.” The lyrics, as well, are interesting: “Hasn’t been easy feeling lonely. So many things I’ve been avoiding. So relieved when I am on the mend. Then you’re back again.” From a listening standpoint, the strength of “Here” is amplified by placing it after “Talk to Me,” so I quickly decided to order the two songs in this manner on my playlist.

Looking Ahead

From Joëtta’s website, these appear to be the first two songs en route to a debut solo EP. One reason did a two-in-one review above is because a vocalist like Joëtta is likely to emphasize different elements of her talent on different songs. For that reason, it can be difficult to capture an artist properly in a single review. For the very same reason, I’m looking forward to hearing her full collection.

Also, you’ll find upcoming performances listed on the “Shows” page of Joëtta’s website. Currently, due to COVID-19, there are none scheduled.