Review: Jill Hagen - Perspective

I have known Jill for quite a long time now, although we haven't seen each other in quite some time. I had no idea that her vocation had become music until I found out about it on Facebook. Some mutual friends have begun attending here and I was able to get her first CD pretty quick after its release. I listened to it right away and was met with a difficult decision. I like reviewing things, being open and honest about what I feel and think about movies, music, TV, whatever. So what to do when you know the person whose music you are listening too? If I didn't like it I couldn't blame it on the songwriting because Jill wrote them, or the vocals because it is Jill singing. What was I going to do if I didn't like it? I definitely entertained the idea of writing nothing. Thankfully I loved the CD on pretty much every level.

First, the vocals. It was driving me nuts because there was something familiar about Jill's singing style, and I finally figured it out. On some of the songs she sounds a lot like Holly Macnarland, which is a grat thing. It is a unique and youthful voice that comes through, emotional, and earnest and her runs exude emotion in a way you don't hear much these days. Which brings me to the second thing I loved about this album and I think the more important factor of the entire album and that is Jill has really put herself into her music. It is self-deprecating, funny at times, moving at others and a great mix of both the spiritual longing most of us go through and the adventures of a single girl. I laughed a little bit that there is a song about finding a man, and a few songs later a song about guys who sort of expect a relationship just because they are available and she is available. The track, called "No!" is lyrically very wise with very accurate insights into the mind of guys (this in and of itself is not difficult but to put it so well into lyrics is quite a feat! J).

There is a lot to like here, and I would recommend picking it up to support a new artist who is worth supporting. To me, the most important part of any music is its depth, especially in a Christian context where a lot of the stuff out there can be very vacuous and surfacy platitudes about God being big and important. Jill's music really strives to examine the yearning and struggle of faith and I loooove that. This one will be in the deck for a long time. Thanks Jill, and congrats! Any time you want to do a concert here at Zion you are welcome!