Jaymay Issue #35

Autumn Fallin’ (Blue Note)

By Callye Morrissey
Published: March 1st, 2008 | 1:43pm

If you’ve ever wished you could somehow permanently and publicly document a tumultuous period in your life, here’s an example of how to successfully do so.

Native New Yorker Jaymay, born Jamie Kristine Seerman, does just this on her debut full-length, Autumn Fallin’. A 20-something with a voice sweet enough to melt honey yet strong enough to hold her own, Jaymay took a seven-month period of her life in New York City, which included deaths of a relationship and of a friend, and made it into an audio book of her experiences and emotions.

Which begs the question: Isn’t an album merely a collection of experiences, molded into song? Perhaps, but Jaymay takes her lessons learned and shapes them into an almost cinematic experience. There’s a common theme surrounding boys and the seasons on Autumn Fallin’. Whether it’s wooing a taken boy on “Gray or Blue,” or giving love advice on “You Are the Only One I Love,” Jaymay seems passionate about her instincts. The seasons change throughout the album, as do the feelings Jaymay has for her muses.

While most of Autumn Fallin’ is a deeply personal, heartbreaking experience, it’s the clinching, closing track that ends the album on a beautifully encouraging note. On “You Are the Only One I Love,” Jaymay admits that even though she didn’t think love at first sight existed, she was wrong. That realization seems like a perfect transition to her next album, sure to be as gorgeous as her first.