Miss Ambivalent - Jeong Lim Yang (2023)

 

    Jeong Lim Yang - or Miss Ambivalent if you prefer - is an ever-present force operating across multiple modern jazz, rock, folk and other music scenes in the greater NYC area. This is her first release under the Miss Ambivalent moniker and stands apart from her previous releases for multiple reasons. The most obvious of these is that this set is song-based with Yang stepping out on vocals in addition to her usual upright and electric bass roles.

    The charm and appeal of this music is wide and vast. There are bits tailored to fans of 90s alt pop à la Aimee Mann as well as the expected rambunctious zeal of Brooklyn-based, improvisation-centered  jazz. That quality comes courtesy of Yang's chosen band here: fleet-fingered keyboardist Santiago Leibson and hyperkinetic drum wizard Kevin Shea. Those two form an especially accommodating unit for Yang to bounce ideas off of. 

    Yang's vocals will likely leave the biggest impression of all the elements on Miss Ambivalent. Regardless of the musical setting, every one of these tunes holds a torch. Her stream-of-consciousness, deeply personal and emotional delivery evokes a streetwalking ghost. Think Annette Peacock but less busy and with a staggered delivery like  drunken boxer. All of that serves the music very well. For instance, some of the syllables in the lyrics are stretched nearly to the point of tearing apart and that is often audible in Yang's delivery which often breaks up around high or sustained notes with a raw intensity that's captivating every time it occurs. Further, the vocals are often double-tracked but in a loose way that jibes with the open, more expressive nature of the ensemble sound. There are also occasional forays into spoken word passages. 

    The majority of the album's nine cuts best falls under the category of "free ballads" where time and flow are somewhat ambiguous and unpredictable. Tracks like the opening "Are You Happy Now?" or others like the trippy "Moon Tethered" and the appropriately titled "The Longing" have a way of enveloping the listener and commanding their attention to Yang's subjects in love, loss, disassociation and endless questioning (that particular point being best covered with "Insert Your Name"). It's not in a violent manner or anything like that either. All of this music is deceptively lulling and musically lush but it's apparent with a very shallow amount digging that Yang possesses a formidable craft in choosing which layers of meaning to stack and how best to reveal the blueprints for her personality.

    When she deviates from the ballads, Yang gets her thoughts out in a wide variety of other musical settings. Not long in, we get "Swim Around, Swim Away" which is a brooding, grungy vamp that feels a bit more like indie rock than jazz. A personal highlight for me is "I Wish You Well" which grooves in slow soulful way that props Yang up for her most delightfully warped flow of the whole set but also one that is raw, cutting and honest. Plus, it features a mellotron noodling away at points which is a deep bonus.

    "Miss Ambivalent" features two choice covers which fit in well with the originals. "Pannonica," a delicate ballad coming from the mind and pen of Thelonious Monk, is an obvious candidate for inclusion. It's a versatile piece of music too that can accommodate  both the looser treatments of Miss Ambivalent as well as earlier, more strict settings over the past 50 years since it was composed. Closing the album is a cover by the Korean band, Light & Salt (빛과 소금) called "Please Don't Go Away from My Side" (내곁에서 떠나가지 말아요). 

    My thoughts after listening to this album is that it speaks to the vibrant beauty of struggle and suffering through the trials of love, interaction and all the diffuse existential crises that bombard us all the time these days. "Miss Ambivalent" is a cohesive, encompassing and thoroughly enjoyable gesture from a gifted and brave artist that most folks I know will enjoy listening to. Treasure.