Review: Petracovich

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Petracovich
“Blue Cotton Skin”
(Red Buttons Records)

Petracovich, a.k.a. Jessica Peters, builds on her neo-folk background by adding in post-trip hop and post-electronica elements.  The result is dreamy, melancholy, and features Peters on piano and Nord II keyboard.  Jessica, with Tad Wagner (engineer/guitarist for Buellton) as co-producer and recording engineer, spent a year at Buonapasta studios crafting this album.  The effort shows in delicately poised arrangements and layers of carefully applied sound.  Somewhat lo-fi and delivered in a personal, ear-close breathy voice just above a whisper, this album is intimate and warm despite the reliance on electronic tone coloring.  What guitar that is present is sparsely applied, just like all the instrumentation, making this nearly a vocal album.  Fans of Aimee Man and Beth Orton will appreciate this nine-song debut.