A.V. Club: Best of the Decade

Artist Jessica Lea Mayfield

  • Jessica Lea Mayfield

Jessica Lea Mayfield is a plaintive, emotionally weary 19-year-old who sounds like she could be at least a plaintive, emotionally weary 30-year-old. That's actually a good thing, and it has a lot to do with Mayfield's surprisingly full- and confident-sounding vocals. Even the lyrics, if not earth-shattering, don't dip into messy teenage-poetry territory. Her friend Dan Auerbach of The Black Keys produced her first album with a sympathetically sparse touch. That helps her moody folk tunes feel more fleshed-out, but most of that maturity is coming from Mayfield herself.

Updated 06/25/2009

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