Down to Earth

Jem's second album is easy, all-knowing, and happy-go-lucky.

Jem, a solo artist born in Wales, resembles a mix of Ivy, Dido, and Mono. Her second album, Down to Earth, is chill, positive, and reserved, incorporating strings, horns, electronics, and whimsy. The track “Crazy” gets down with funk—upon initial listen it had my head bobbing (and I usually don’t do that on the first date). “You Will Make It” is so touching and sad, I wanted to jump off a bridge, yet “On Top of the World,” with its ethereal, optimistic flow, beckons the sensation of riding a unicorn over a rainbow. In the middle of the lineup, the smart and sexy track “Aciiid!” materializes out of nowhere to become my electronic wet dream come true—the bass in that song can have its way with me any day of the week. On the whole, Down to Earth is an easy, all-knowing, happy-go-lucky record with just the right amount of sap—the kind I eat up with a spoon.