Jess Williamson is back with a new track called "hum of the city," and it's a stunner. The Texan singer-songwriter has always known what to do with her voice: that full-body gut wail with a hint of high-lonesome yip. Anyone who spent time with 2020's Sorceress knows this already. Williamson has been carving out this corner of windswept country since the Native State days, and she keeps getting sharper.
"Hum of the city" leans into everything that makes her special. The vocal does the heavy lifting here, soaring and cracking in all the right places. It's a slow burn that pays off.
She's one of those writers who makes solitude sound like a landscape. Her collaboration with Katie Crutchfield as Plains proved she can harmonize with the best, but solo is where that lonesome yip really breathes.
Williamson keeps building, record after record, moment after moment. This one belongs right at the front. Press play and let it ache.