Jackson + Sellers Breaking Point
For two artists who recently formed a band together, Jade Jackson and Aubrie Sellers have very different musical backgrounds. Sellers, the daughter of Nashville country musicians, has two records of what she’s termed “garage country,” while Jackson, with help from producer and punk rock legend Mike Ness, has released two records of California Americana. After touring together and bouncing ideas off each other during the pandemic, Jackson+Sellers has released their first project together. Breaking Point is a piss-and-vinegar garage punk record with an occasional dose of twang to offset the bite.
Turns out, the influences behind Jackson’s and Sellers’ styles goes far beyond their direct musical mentors. The pair takes the swampy slow burn of Julie Miller’s “The Devil Is An Angel” and turns it into a scalding album opener full of guitars and bad choices – “You seem sincere, but if I trust you, dear, will I ever see my soul again?” The duo’s harmonies are counterbalanced by ragged guitar riffs from producer Ethan Ballinger, who also adds a grimey solo to the dark shimmering title track,
The song that inspired this project, “Hush,” is slower, penned by Jackson as a largely acoustic piece. The track both shows off the duo’s harmonies and allows each to display their different styles while singing about the tenuous nature of bad love – “Her soul’s slipping, her mind’s drifting/Like a ship letting go of her ropes.” Befitting both partners’ willingness to share the spotlight on Breaking Point, it’s Sellers’ more country-ish voice that pops on “Hush.” “As You Run” gives Jackson the same chance, but also features what might be the prettiest harmonies on the record, singing about letting a lover leave – “I can’t…keep the wind from blowin’/Against your back as you run.”
Even when the songs are sad, though, the performances are bristling with self-confidence. “Wound Up” is fast and brassy, “Waste Your Time” recalls the sneering vitality of The Runaways, and “The World Is Black” pulses with grimey energy. Breaking Point wraps with two covers, bringing a slinky groove to Suzi Quatro’s scorcher “The Wild One” and turning up the taunt in Shannon Wright’s “Has Been” before crashing into a fiery instrumental outro. The sorry dude in the song may be “So old news, so last year,” but Jackson+Sellers are just getting going.
Song I Can’t Wait to Hear Live: “The Devil Is An Angel” – Loud, aggressive and a whole lotta fun.
Breaking Point was produced by Ethan Ballinger, co-produced by Aubrie Sellers, recorded and mixed by Brandon Bell and mastered by Pete Lyman.
Go here to order Breaking Point (out October 22):
https://kingsroadmerch.com/anti-records/product/19785/breaking-point-cd
Check out the album release livestream (October 24) here: https://boxoffice.mandolin.com/products/jackson-sellers-album-release-livestream-ticket