Faith Healer

When Edmonton's Jessica Jalbert first began performing solo under the name Faith Healer, the alias was her way of avoiding being pigeonholed as a singer-songwriter. Now, however, times have changed: Faith Healer has blossomed into a band, with singer-guitarist Jalbert joined by drummer/multi-instrumentalist Renny Wilson. The follow-up to 2015's Cosmic Troubles was largely recording during an intensive month-long session in September 2016 at Wilson's personal studio in Montreal. During the process, Jalbert rented a room in Wilson's house and the pair spent hours jamming and listening to bargain bin rock records in the basement."The last album had a lot of flowery '60s flourishes," Jalbert explains. "This time, we wanted to simplify it and just do some straight-ahead songs. Focus on the song itself rather than all of the production." The pop-rock arrangements are still overflowing with beautiful sonic details-from the Twin Peaks synths that enshroud "Sterling Silver" to the funky clavinet that's nestled within the paisley-patterned pop of "& Waiting"-but the instrumentation is stripped down enough that it can be faithfully recreated by a live band. Jalbert and Wilson were inspired by the garage-punk snarl of Wipers, the deadpan drama of Leonard Cohen's Death of a Ladies' Man, and the classic songwriting chops of Scott Walker and Elvis Costello.Balancing melancholy lyrics with playful moods, lush melodies with straightforward arrangements, Try ,-) is the sound of an introspective loner leaving her bedroom to make a rock record with her best bud. Forget what the bullies told you in middle school-there's nothing cooler than trying hard.