Twenty years after her debut solo release, Real Life, Joan Wasser, who records as Joan as Police Woman, has released a reimagining of that recording, this time titled Real Life Evolution. Less revolutionary, it does illuminate Wasser’s consistent artistic ethos.
Over her 11 studio recordings, including collaborations and two collections of covers, critics have struggled to categorize her music. Commentators, including this one, would be wise to listen to the artist herself on “The Ride”. “As long as you follow me,” she explains, “This is what I do, like I do / I’ve been on the ride before.” This is what she does. Not sticking to a single genre, or even a handful, Wasser’s songs are more like genre collages, with elements of the pop-o-sphere cut and pasted into her musical vision.
Wasser has been on this ride before. She was already a seasoned touring and recording side-player, first on violin, then increasingly on vocals and keyboards, by the time she ventured into the studio as a solo artist. This record documents her evolution. Underscoring this, the song “Real Life” closes the record after opening the debut, closing the loop. It also highlights her songwriting sophistication. With airy major-sixth chords and odd chromatic passages blurring the tonal centre, this arrangement is slower and features a more emotional vocal performance. It suggests a measure of self-reflection.
Real Life Evolution opens with the lovely “Anyone”. This is Joan As Police Woman at her singer-songwriter best, accompanying herself here, and often on Wurlitzer electronic piano, giving the record retro warmth while still sounding modern. For the bridge, the song comes nearly to a halt, significantly, on the words “It’s been a long time, a long time / I’ve walked alone, and I’ve warmed to it.” Coloured with Wasser’s own string arrangements, this is one of several such nearly ambient instrumental parts that illustrate her musical evolution after she explicitly explains it.
The minor-key “Flushed Chest” is another introspective tune, enriched by bell-like Wurlitzer and sweet harmony voices and kept chunking along by the cool sound of Thomas Bartlett on Rhodes bass and the minimal drumming of Parker Kindred. His tight groove also lights a fire under the soul-inspired “I Defy” featuring smooth guest vocals from Krystle Warren and Curtis Mayfield-style strings. The track is further elevated from the original version by the addition of a jazzy, synthesized guitar solo from Oren Bloedow.
The sad and needy “Christobel” repeats the bereft interrogative “Why won’t you fall in love with me?” over an insistent piano ostinato. Again, the evolved version is supercharged by an extended ambient break with strings and a careful choice of notes by guitarist Will Graefe.
After listening, music writers may also benefit by looking at the mise en scène of the album cover. It shows the artist not in a glamor shot but instead photographs the classically trained violinist in denim and librarian glasses seated at a grand piano. Not in close-up, she sits in the middle of her atelier, looking at the camera, but her hands rest on the keyboard as if she’s been interrupted mid-inspiration. A floppy, faithful dog, a desk with manuscript paper, what looks like a Rhodes piano, and other musical instruments and gear litter the scene. This is not the picture of a pop diva, but of a working musician engaged in her serious personal business. Odd items and several cases of vinyl records also represent, to continue reading the picture, her broad influences and her collage approach.
These influences are certainly evident on Real Life Evolution, and the reinterpretations in the remake are, by turns, subtle and overt. Yet, after her spectacular Lemons, Limes, and Orchids (2024), a full flowering of both her soul and torch souls, this outing is a bit of a disappointment. These songs started very well, and the intervening years have done little to age them. Interesting, and listeners can make up their own minds whether the songs have been improved or are just different, but this iteration leaves me thirsting for new music from this singularly talented artist