Jessica in The Rainbow / Photo by Rachel Resterhouse

REVIEWS

“Dreamy, intimate experimental pop, part of the artist’s challenge to herself to write and record a song every single day of the year.”
-Bandcamp, “New & Notable” (front page – re: JiTR – Make-Believe, 2017)

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“What Stands Out: This is the latest release from the Michigan-based indie artist “Jessica in the Rainbow.” The soft and subtle textures of piano, synth pads and Jessica Fogle’s ethereal vocal stylings stand out as something fully unique. This six-track album moves slowly around themes of dreams, flying and light; the same transcendental and surrealist themes are featured in the artwork. Listening to the album is like peering through a window into the subconscious of a gentle and inquisitive mind.
Digging Deeper: Notably every song on the album is an improvised one-take performance, all recorded on the same day. The textures and midi instrumentation that give the album dynamic life were added later to round out the original performances. It’s a profound achievement for a stream of consciousness album to come together this clearly and cohesively. Jessica has a prolific number of projects available at Bandcamp.com, so fans of this project have a deep pool to choose from.
Perfect For: Fans of Sigur Rós and Regina Spektor, laying on a yoga mat outside at night and watching the stars.”

-Jamie Brackman, Local Spins (Grand Rapids, MI) – Album Review of “Upward: A Quarandream” (2020)

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Meandering, curious, floaty and surprisingly strong piano based compositions with soft vocals. Insanely rich and dreamy sound with free flowing poetic lyrics. The fact that no one is talking about this is shocking. Big rec.

-Yungimas (Poland), rateyourmusic.com, re: Tiny Traumas, adding up (out of body, in your skin) III

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“This remixed reissue of Jessica in The Rainbow’s 2017 album brings out new levels of detail in its tiny winning bedroom pop songs.” -Bandcamp front page, “New & Notable” (re: Make-Believe (2020 remix))

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“Jessica in The Rainbow has released a mini solo EP titled Everything’s, True pt. 1. It is a vocal/piano only leak to preview an upcoming release she has planned, featuring orchestrations by Elisabeth Blair and cello by Hunter Zhao. This sweet two song EP leaves us haunted by Jessica Fogle’s siren-like voice. Listening to these two tracks feels like walking down a sparkling, snowy path lit by the moonlight while gripping your lover’s hand tight for warmth. The melodious piano accompanies Fogle’s voice flawlessly and it sparks an emotional response as authentic as the artist herself. If you’ve ever wondered what it would be like to float atop a cloud within the make-believe heavens, Fogle has graced the world with the musical equivalent. Do your heart a favor and get yourself a copy here.”  – Mackenzie Tucker, Melolagnia

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“Mellow and ethereal, Jessica in the Rainbow’s songwriting and composition experienced on its first album, “Catalysts,” are true to the band’s title. The songs seem to float effortlessly among the clouds and through space with the lush, delicate vocals and colorful songwriting of Jessica Fogle tying it all together. A classically trained pianist with a degree in Musical Theater Writing from NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts, the Grand Haven artist boasts a long list of musical accomplishments that include writing the score for the movie musical, “Were the World Mine,” (a project that gained notoriety in its own right, having won 15 awards, including “Best Music” in the 2008 Nashville Film Fest) and an invite to be an artist in residence at Island (now Crosshatch) Hill House in northern Michigan” – Ricky Olmos, Local Spins

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“super dreamy beautiful personal songs a la Sufjan Stevens meets Feist meets the feeling of walking along Lake Michigan.”  – Nathan K., musician

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“Songs about feeling lost. There’s a lot of imagery of flying, trying to find yourself, attempting to understand God’s will and fighting it, all delivered with comforting, breathy vocals and arrangements so sparse and slow yet so engaging and easy to get lost in. Painfully honest and intimate, with so many memorable moments that legitimately really moved me. I love it.
Jessica in the Rainbow is an incredibly talented songwriter – the way she writes her compositions really appeals to me – and I’m in complete awe that no one knows about her or her vast discography. This is easily one of the best albums I’ve heard all year.”

-Yungimas, rateyourmusic.com re: Michigan Dreams (2019)

MEDIA

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Full page article in Revue West Michigan, 2020 https://revuewm.com/music/item/4820-creativity-from-the-clouds

Full page article in Local Spins, 2018 https://localspins.com/grand-havens-jessica-in-the-rainbow-tackles-unique-year-long-writing-challenge-to-grow-as-musician-and-person/

Article on being a “Creativity Activist” in The Rapidian, Grand Rapids Michigan, June 2017: http://www.therapidian.org/placematters-creativity-activist

West Michigan Music Video of the Week, December 2017: https://localspins.com/west-michigan-music-video-of-week-jessica-in-the-rainbow-haunting-history-lesson/

Featured on:
Okay, This is Epic: The Best Albums I’ve Ever Heard on rateyourmusic.com

lesser known albums that deserve more attention on rateyourmusic.com

Strange, Weird, Obscure, and Unsettling in 2019 on rateyourmusic.com

Albums I should listen to before coronavirus kills us all on rateyourmusic.com

Listen to Jessica in The Rainbow on:

GR Live – Home at the B.O.B. with WYCE (April 2018 – with LVRS, Dacia Bridges)

GR Live – Home at the B.O.B. with WYCE (June 2017 – with Blushing Monk, Revelasians)

Interviewed by Local Spins at Lamp Light Music Festival, 2016 ❤

Performing Live on 88.1 WYCE, in promotion of the 1st Annual Ladyfest at the Lakeshore.

Interviewed & Performing Live on Walk The Beat Radio, with Katie Mansfield, to promote the 1st Annual Ladyfest at the Lakeshore.

Article & Interview with Local Spins about the origins of Ladyfest at the Lakeshore.

Podcast of a visit to The Guest List with Ben Davey on WYCE (including a playlist of some favorite, featuring some heroes and inspiration)

Dogtown Studio Session (2019) with cloudlight

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ADDITIONAL PRESS:

…for “cloudlight” (a band with shared lead vocals & songwriting, with Bryan Ralph)-

“Lovely and delicate songs from Michigan band cloudlight, full of angelic vocals and barely-there instrumentation.” –Bandcamp, “New & Notable” (re: cloudlight, 2017)

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“…cloudlight’s debut album is a tender display of eerie folk songs, seemingly carved out of the Michigan wilderness and presented, delicately, to those lucky enough to stumble upon the captivating, often beautiful glow that resonates from within.

[they] have crafted a record that lingers rather than attacks, though it never once feels like background music, more that it comes from a place where boisterous bluster counts for little at all. There are ruminations in their sounds, little tremors of something else that keeps the whole thing from drifting away, but cloudlight certainly aren’t afraid of fully embracing the quietude.

Fogle’s half-whispered is a thing of intrigue, most notably on the centre-piece stand-out “superhwy” which digs its heels in from the very first listen. Elsewhere, the captivating five-minutes of “route twentytwo” make for one of the more poignant folk excursions we’ve heard this year, while closing track “dream” plays out like the most lucid of departures, the gentle instrumentation and poignant words that dance around it making for a truly touching piece of music, and a suitably immersive and impressive end to this small, delicate, but ultimately lasting gem of a record.”

– tom johnson, GoldFlakePaint

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“Ultra-delicate, like a lakeshore sunset over ice, the music of cloudlight escapes easy description and demands absolutely rapt attention. It features the haunting voices of Jessica Fogle (also known for her solo work as Jessica In The Rainbow) and Bryan Ralph over sparse ukulele and keyboard parts, along with the magic of Mackenzie Carlson on electric mandolin. Lose yourself to the sky…”  – Eric Mitts, Revue West Michigan

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“cloudlight’s debut ep is a beautiful dreamscape of sounds. jessica fogle, aka jessica in the rainbow, has a siren-like voice; like you’d imagine a mystic guide through a dark forest would have …like viewing the light of a fresh sunrise beaming through the clouds as you’re coming down from a psychedelic trip, cloudlight’s whimsical sound gently carries you to your happy place with a newfound sense of clarity. the instruments sound raw and authentic, and they seem to weave effortlessly in front of, behind and alongside the vocals creating a powerful and dynamic wave of smooth sound. this ep is euphorically beautiful in an original way, exposing listeners to sounds that seem to inspire contentment and even comfort embracing and expressing your truest self.”  – Mackenzie Tucker, Melolagnia

…for “Jessica Fogle” releases (Chicago, pre-2012)

Sly wit, silky pipes and some deliciously twisted lyrical ideas make J-Fo an Orphanage favorite that we start to jones for like morning coffee if she’s been away too long and its been TOO LONG

“A true treasure to behold, this women packs nuclear sized energy in a teeny frame. Hear her great chops, awesome wit and angelic voice, We at the Orphanage are at her service, you will be too.”

“Whoa!!!! Millie,the night was a smashhhhhhhhhhhhh HIT! …Ms.Jessica Fogle kicked it off by making 45 people fall in love with her, in two songs – Goddess Queen!!! So tasty–and she quotes super mario bros. Her Spirit remains with ussssssssssss.”

-The Orphanage, Chicago

“the magnificent Jessica Fogle…swing(s) her knifeblade of song, one edge dripping acid, the other honey, the reflected light burning lost blueprints and indelible sigils on the sensitive retinas of your inner vision – the knife is a distraction, the light is the weapon, as you’ll realize when it’s far too late. I sure don’t know what any of that means, but her music is too good for it not to be true somehow.”

~Des Pickard

From an article about the 50 songs in 90 days challenge”…Sometimes the resulting jewel is discovering an entire new genre. Jessica Fogle, a singer-songwriter in Chicago, would describe her style as anything but mainstream, but during 50/90 she suddenly found her inner Top 40, which helped her grow as a musician. “There’s a reason to bother to write 50 songs.” Fogle says. “If I hadn’t signed up for this, I would’ve only written three or four. There would have been all these songs in me that I wouldn’t have bothered to find.”

-Tara Cavanaugh – Vox Magazine