Joan Wasser is Joan As Police Woman, a talented force in her own right and a veteran collaborator with some of music’s biggest names including Lou Reed, John Cale, Rufus Wainwright, RZA, and Sufjan Stevens (the last two just being since the release of her latest album). Her 6th album Damned Devotion is a sonic benchmark in her discography. On this effort, she strips back her usual dense, polyphonic soundscape to reveal a more accessible, bare-bones sound and sharpens focus on beautifully harmonized lyrics that can be deeply personal and reflective or boldly declarative and inspiring, emoting on issues in her own life and those we face as a population at large. “Tell Me” leans on the former, though it’s theme is one any of us can relate to, summed-up with the song’s repeated (and brightly harmonized) phrase “Tell me, tell me, tell me…what do you need/want.”
“Tell Me” appears on Damned Devotion, out now via PIAS.
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