Last year the native Texan Jess Williamson joined Katie Crutchfield to form the duo Plains, together releasing an album of gorgeous windswept indie folk which perfectly showcased her romantic, yearning vocals.
Her new record Time Ain’t Accidental continues in that same vein, offering us a softer take on a break-up record, sounding more like the exhalation breath of freedom rather than the howl of despair.
Musically the sound here feels very organic and understated, created through sparse use of traditional instruments, with some simple iPhone drumbeats to create an engaging and modern lo-fi style of Americana.
On the opening title track ‘Time Ain’t Accidental’ she’s embracing the random serendipity of life, falling in love at the wrong time, with the wrong person, in the wrong place and somehow still finding the joy in it all. In the video she’s dancing down the road in the pouring rain, looking like she’s having the time of her life.
‘It’s a life of delusion and love is the cure,’ is the central refrain of ‘Hunter’ and the main message of the album really. You could consider it a kind of protest song against the dating app culture she found herself in after her long term relationship ended. She’s looking for real love, moving fast, enduring the troublesome world on her way to finding it. There’s a glowing confidence in the vocals, suggesting she knows herself and what she wants in life.
‘Chasing Spirits’ reflects more on the break up itself and how she had to rethink her past and what ‘forever’ meant. Both this song and the beautiful ballads ‘A Few Seasons’ and ‘Stampede’ also contemplate the difficulties of being a successful musician and dealing with your partner’s insecurities and addictions. These songs suggest she’s better off without this guy, even if it hurts to realise the truth.
On ‘Tobacco Two Step’ she’s imagining going back to her old life, seeing her old flame with a new love, thinking about how he wasted her time. Dawning realisations make her see herself more clearly, help her to understand what happened and why. There’s also some spiritual searching here, as shown on ‘God in Everything’.
On ‘Topanga Two Step’ she leads us out onto the dance floor, trying to have some fun dating and dancing if nothing else. We finish with ‘Roads’ where she’s maybe falling in love again, thinking about what freedom means, deciding how to move forward. To end with a beginning sums up the hopeful heart of these songs.
In an interview with Stereogum Jess shared some words of wisdom about what she found out about herself during the time of making the record, saying:
‘In life, I think, it can be easy to grasp for things, to chase things, to want things. My experience was that you can just rest and sit back and real love will come to you. It’s not something you need to beg for. If you’re just living your life and being a version of yourself that you respect and doing your thing, you’re going to end up in the right place at the right time.’
Musically too you can see how this strategy has worked for her and, whether by accident or fateful design, it’s led her to write the best record of her career.
BUY: https://jesswilliamson.bandcamp.com/album/time-aint-accidental-2
Highway Queens 
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