Justin Wade Tam and Jamie Drake “So Many Melodies”
Justin Wade Tam and Jamie Drake released So Many Melodies in February, and I’ve been meaning to write a review. My world has been full, and it’s been harder to make time for this than I’d like to admit, to sit in the stillness and soak in the words, which is what the album deserves. When I allow myself this time, the five songs help me reconnect, they ground me. It’s like a guided meditation, but is also just great music, with haunting harmonies that will stay with you.
So Many Melodies starts with “Free,” which is a statement on the struggles we all have: “spend my weekend digital dreaming, fighting to escape/up the mountainside, under open skies, headed for the peak, happy just to see, falling leaves calling me to come and be awake.” This speaks to me deeply each time. It mesmerizes and serves as a wake-up call, about how we “spend our days in a virtual race, losing our damn mind…flowers bloom outside of your room, come and be alive.”
This EP is a 20-minute lifeline we can all use right now. I might be late on getting this review out, but So Many Melodies will always be timely. Like any positive thing we do for our soul (be it yoga, writing a song, painting, reading an insightful novel), after you do it, you say “wow, I should do this more often.” Well, that’s how I feel every time I listen to So Many Melodies.
It’s a stressful time right now, and a time when art is essentially under attack. It’s harder for artists to produce, it’s harder to “get after it” both because of financial pressures and because of symptoms of this overanxious world we live in. We’ve got to be intentional about responding, not reacting, of looking within instead of allowing distractions to numb us. This EP can inspire us to create, to listen to that “guiding star” and follow through.
So Many Melodies helps you feel your feelings, stop, and ask yourself what you’re searching for. If you’re lost, that’s a good place to start. “Guiding Star” captures this struggle brilliantly. It’s a road trip song, but it’s also just a beautiful reflective song, one that has the same impact when you’re just sitting down for coffee and giving it your full attention, which is what this EP deserves. It doesn’t “take you away.” Instead, it reminds you to look within.
There’s also a beautiful backstory to this EP that speaks to the power of perseverance and perfect timing. “Guiding Star” was actually born back in 2011 when Justin and Jamie were set up on a blind co-write by ASCAP in Nashville. Both were busy with their own projects at the time, but would meet and continue to write over the years, with Humming House even cutting two of their co-writes on their album Revelries. But somehow, “Guiding Star” never made the cut, even after several demos.
Fast forward to summer 2023 when they decided to try for a duo EP. After going through all the songs they’d written together, they decided to revisit “Guiding Star.” Over a Zoom session, they finally finished it in 2023. When they recorded it with Jordan Lehning, Jamie Dick, Juan and Jon Estes, Justin said on Instagram that it felt like they had captured the idea in the way it was always meant to be. Bobby and Melody Chase added the string arrangements. Now, fourteen years later, “Guiding Star” serves as an example that “if a song is good, it’ll find its way at the right time to shine.”
The team of musicians who brought their own magic to this project includes Reid Sorel on additional engineering, Casey Wood on mastering and additional engineering, Juan Solorzano on electric and acoustic guitars, Jon Estes on bass for “So Many Melodies,” “Guiding Star,” and “River,” Alec Newnam on bass for “Free” and “Wandering Day,” Jamie Dick on drums and percussion for “So Many Melodies,” “Guiding Star,” and “River,” Ross McReynolds on drums for “Free,” Bobby Chase on violin, Melodie Chase on cello, with Sam Street capturing the photos, Joel Hase creating the artwork, and Soundly Music handling distribution.
The songs on So Many Melodies were written over fourteen years of collaborations in Nashville and LA between tours and travels. Justin said the EP was a labor of love over two stretches of recording sessions in 2021 and 2023 with “the incredible Jordan Lehning, who captured the vision and made it into something they couldn’t be happier with.”
The EP also makes you move. “River” is a seductive, jazzy pop tune that has a bit of a “Fever” feel to it. David Williford’s horn work couldn’t complement the song any better, and really takes this duo to another level. You’ll see. And the production is perfect! I love the vocal mixes. It’s organic yet polished, old-school yet modern.
From there Justin and Jamie go into the title track, which features more heavenly harmonies. It also has a beautiful message, one about choice: “there are so many melodies. Which one should I be?”
The album ends on a more somber note with “Wandering Day,” where Jamie really shines, sounding a little like Joni Mitchell as she shares some poignant lyrics that have a way of summing up this album: “revelations come as revolutions go, when you circle all around, you know…we’re all lost until we’re found…gotta circle all around.” Justin and Jamie don’t have the answers, but they are intentional about seeking them, and this album will awaken the same spirit in you – if you let it. I strongly recommend you do.
“There are so many melodies. Which one should I be?” We can all be grateful Justin and Jamie chose these five melodies, and put this album together fourteen years later. It was well worth the wait. The EP is available wherever you stream your music. For more information, go to https://www.justinwadetam.com.
Highlights: “Free,” “Guiding Star”
