Damned Devotion vinyl

On her sixth album as Joan As Police Woman, Joan Wasser dives into deeper and darker waters than on her previous work. 'Damned Devotion' draws the listener in close with Wasser's heartfelt sentiments of romantic honesty and intimacy to powerful effect, vocally balancing frailty and strength on a knife-edge in a way that continues to assert her strength as a vocalist and performer. Her ambient melting pot of R'n'B, beats, dimly lit atmospherics, soulful harmonies, eerie samples and crunching riffs strikes perfect balances at every turn, showing a depth of songwriting full of a tension that feels calmly restrained at one moment and threateningly coiled in the next. It's these levels of tension and atmosphere coupled with Wasser's instrumental and vocal breadth that make 'Damned Devotion' a real gem, an album whose many virtues become ever more apparent with every listen.