JOAN AS POLICE WOMAN returns with a new album, Damned Devotion, and it’s her best yet.
Already acknowledged as a thrilling live performer and starkly honest lyricist, Damned Devotion finds Joan Wasser at her rawest. While her 2014 album The Classic was a soulful celebration of life and her 2011 album The Deep Field a lush moody expansion, this new release sees her stripping her compositions back to the core, the bare-all lyricism and timeless melodies harking back to her accolade-winning album To Survive (2008) and the universally acclaimed debut album Real Life (2006). Joan: “My maxim is: if it feels scary to say it, it’s the thing you must say”. And on Damned Devotion the thoughtful lyricism is married to Joan’s most accessible music to date.
Famously a collaborator and muse to artists as diverse as Anohni, Rufus Wainwright, Lou Reed and Beck, since the release of her last album Joan has worked alongside fashion designers Viktor & Rolf as well as a growing list of musicians including Sufjan Stevens, Lau, RZA and most recently Daniel Johnston. “I say yes to almost everything,” she admits. “I just want to be making music all the time. I can comfortably say that music has saved my life and continues to save my life. I am a devotee. It’s not something I can even choose or not choose, it’s just what is.” …Damned Devotion