Jana Losey’s second CD release, Blocks, has me wondering “what ever happened to Natalie Merchant anyway?” Do you remember Natalie? The gifted

singer from 10,000 Maniacs who also produced a memorable solo album. Michael Stipe’s fag hag? To say that Jana Losey’s underemphasized vocals remind me of Natalie Merchant is an understatement and a high compliment. I loved that solo album.

Blocks will not be available for purchase until February of 2008, but it is fully available on Q-Radio.net now. Selected tracks are available through Jana Losey’s MySpace page.

The first track “Have You Made It” features a memorable guitar hook and a driving beat. One of the best songs on the release, you may find yourself singing along, channeling Natalie Merchant .. errr…Jana Losey…yourself.

“Five Days” is a melancholy ode to a depressed friend which contains the memorable lyric “I never realized the ceiling was so dirty/It’s all those spiders making webs.” The rest of the song maintains the depressed friend as an old house metaphor, punctuated with the heartfelt verse “When something’s wrong you check out.”

“Easy To Love” is a quirky piano-driven piece about quirky people who are easy to love and easy to overestimate. We have whole neighborhoods of those people in Portland.

“Little Wars” is an excellent song about the little wars that seem to be a part of every relationship. It’s nice to hear angry Jana on this one.

Blocks is an excellent album. It marks a shift from Jana Losey’s initial release, Bittersweet, away from an attempt to pen sellable pop songs to writing, producing and performing more personal songs. The lyrics tell stories. Some of the stories are angry, some are supportive and some are filled with the wonder of things to come. No matter the topic, lyrics with stories and the musical ability to back those up add up to good songs.

Enjoy listening to Jana Losey’s Blocks in its entirety on Q-Radio.net and purchase the CD when it is released in February 2008. It will find a home among your favorites and will make you forget about Natalie Merchant completely.

Check out www.myspace.com/janalosey and www.janalosey.com.

All tracks can be previewed on Q Radio.

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