On August 2^nd of 2019, Jade Imagine, (led by Jade McInally and accompanied by Tim Harvey, Liam Halliwell, and James Harvey), released their new record titled Basic Love via Marathon Artists, and honestly, that’s a pretty good way to sum up this project. Basic and subtly beautiful which can be felt through the lyrics and guitar lines; while the word Love represents more of the passion behind the occasionally political and personal lyrics in tandem with the more aggressive guitar lines that keep things flowing. This record seems to combine the feelings that Jade has about a specific relationship with another person, with her current feelings of the general state of the world that we live in. Confused. That’s a feeling, right?

What I gathered from the lyrics, is that it sounds like Jade is coming out of some sort of relationship that ended abruptly, and she seems content with that; but is still looking for a little bit more closure and that’s why you get this confusing message throughout the album. Towards the end of the record, it seems like Jade has come to terms with what life is like without this specific relationship with tracks like Cut Me off, Past Life, and Don’t Say It’s Over. Jade incorporates her feelings about politics and how confusing politics can be in today’s age in the track The News. Within this track she also talks about this relationship she so often mentions and the lyrics “I can’t keep up with the news” followed by “Give me an update every morning; You got a story so bright it hurts my mind” could be her alluding to the relationship falling off due to such a hectic world that we live in. It could also just be her complaining about how crazy and messed up this world is and how it’s becoming a strain on her mental health. But who really knows at the end of the day? Probably only Jade and her bandmates.

There were a few times where I felt myself tuning out due to some of the simplicity that this album has to offer, only to be brought back in by the strong guitar parts that would grab anyone’s attention. That’s not to say that the simplicity is necessarily bad either, it can be a refreshing sound in an otherwise complex world.

6.5/10. The record was enjoyable to listen to and I really liked it. However, it seems a little front-heavy and loses me for a little bit there towards the end but that’s because I’m looking for something slightly more captivating, probably because I have a busy mind.

Give these tracks a chance:

Gonna Do Nothing

The News

Big Old House

Remote Control

Not on the album, but listen to Walkin’ Around while you’re here.

Disclaimer: This is just my opinion, it’s neither right nor wrong. If you enjoyed this review, please let me know. If you did not enjoy this review, please let me know why that is so I can improve my reviews for KZUU 90.7 FM.

Thanks for reading!

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