A Mythic Journey Through Grief and Love: Jessie Monk’s Double Single Release

Jessie Monk’s double single release, ‘A Constellation of Voices’ and ‘O’ My Love,’ is a breathtaking introduction to her forthcoming album, Mis O’ The Mountains. With one foot in myth and the other in raw personal experience, these tracks weave a deeply immersive sonic and narrative tapestry.
‘A Constellation of Voices’ is a thunderous, emotionally charged piece that encapsulates grief in its most primal form. Written in the wake of Monk’s father’s passing, the song was composed amidst the natural surroundings of the Birrarung Marr in Naarm, and its instrumentation reflects the tumult of loss. The live recording crackles with electricity, as if the musicians are conjuring something beyond themselves. Thunderous percussion from Max Andrzejewski, eerie violin from Fabiana Striffler, and corrosive saxophone lines from Conor Cunningham swirl together, mirroring the unpredictable waves of mourning. Brian Trahan’s post-production wizardry heightens the song’s otherworldly quality, layering whispers and haunting delay effects to pull the listener deeper into Monk’s underworld.
On the other side of the coin, ‘O’ My Love’ is a tender, cinematic ballad—an ethereal love song that radiates warmth and transformation. The track tells the story of Dubh Rois, a gentle harpist who soothes the monstrous Mis with music, a metaphor for the power of love and art to heal. Unlike the raw, stormy nature of ‘A Constellation of Voices,’ ‘O’ My Love’ is delicately arranged, with producer Brian Trahan crafting sweeping symphonic strings reminiscent of golden-era orchestras. The flute, violin, contrabass, and piano coalesce into a dreamlike reverie, evoking a timeless romanticism.
Together, these songs present two sides of Monk’s artistic universe: darkness and light, despair and hope. They hint at an album that will be as expansive as it is intimate, as mythic as it is deeply personal.