Praise For Wallflower.com | Indie Music Blog

THE SKINNY: Jess Ray And The Rag Tag Army have released a self-titled LP that has me wondering just how soon a public audience will latch onto Ray's beautiful voice.

WEBSITE: http://jessraymusic.com
MYSPACE: http://myspace.com/hearjessray
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Jess Ray And The Rag Tag Army have absolutely seized my ears and I think any self respecting music lover will find the same beauty in Ray's voice and the band's simple intensity. Ray's Christian roots and spiritual lyrics carry her music to an emotional high and suspend it from song start to end. That, coupled with warm guitars and a steady groove make listening to the group's recent self-titled release as easy to listen to as Copeland dipped in melted chocolate.

The Rag Tag Army is essentially a separate entity from Jess Ray, but the music makers join forces both live and on this record to form what is in-arguably a very pleasant playing band. Ray is responsible for songwriting and on tracks like "Truth" it's evident there is an emphasis on creativity and tonal depth as the band launches into unison vocals, group percussion, and finally an incidental chord change that will keep you on your toes.

Lyrically, Ray brings familiar Contemporary Christian to the stage but does so with some unique, personal variation that could land her a spot on either indie and major radio. It's Jess Ray's melodies that differentiate her from the pop acts on those very same major radio stations. Simple and insatiably catchy melodies that won't leave your head (especially tracks like "One Name") are breaching the rim of this album. Ray's warm and rather low voice with a surprisingly high range makes every line of prose pop with love. I must have played "One Name" six times since I received the album this morning. Take a moment to listen to a few tracks and maybe you'll be infected with the same beautiful sounds that I've had the pleasure of writing about here.

"One Name" off of Self-Titled