REVIEW: “Water Made Us” by Jamila Woods

Album cover for Water Made Us, image courtesy the artist.

REVIEW
Jamila Woods, Water Made Us
Jagjaguwar, 2023

By Efua Osei

“All water has a perfect memory and is forever trying to get back to where it was”

Jamila Woods shared with NPR this Toni Morrison quote that inspired the title of her third album Water Made Us. One thing Jamila Woods and I share is an intense love, and the highest regard, for writers like Toni Morrison. The full quote reads, 

“You know, they straightened out the Mississippi River in places, to make room for houses and livable acreage. Occasionally, the river floods these places. 'Floods' is the word they use, but in fact it is not flooding: it is remembering. Remembering where it used to be. All water has a perfect memory and is forever trying to get back to where it was. All water has a perfect memory and is forever trying to get back to where it was.”

Woods, like Morrison, is exploring what it means to return to your roots, your home, yourself. Woods is exploring her past relationship(s) in hindsight, likening each stage to the different ways we relate to the water; the ice, the stillness, the waves, and the reflection of ourselves. That reflective quality can be seen in the cover art, showing a submerged Woods reaching to the water’s surface. This imagery calls back to the album cover for her debut album, HEAVN. Over 6 years later, Woods still finds herself back in the water “re-tracing steps'' and revisiting old feelings. I’m always excited to hear a new project from Woods; to be moved by her melodies and fall head first into her writing. Woods was actually teaching poetry full time here in Chicago, as former Associate Artistic Director of Young Chicago Authors and organizer for Louder Than a Bomb. The 34 year old Chicqago native pursued music full time in 2020, and throughout the pandemic created what she describes as her most vulnerable album to date.

Album cover for Boomerang, image courtesy the artist.

Reminiscing, learning, and accepting are huge themes of Woods’ new album. The motif of water carries the project, both in the album’s pacing, and in its imagery, figurative language. Embarking on her directorial debut in this era, the videos for Tiny Garden, Boomerang, and Practice offer a beautiful visual companion to the music. The album sounds like how Morrison describes the Mississippi flowing into flooding, and reads like a post breakup-journal. From beginning to end, Woods paints the arc of a relationship. She speaks to the first times, the awkward middles, and a heartbreaking ending. The inclusion of the deeply personal interludes calls back to her debut album HEAVN. Woods reaches new levels of transparency, including snippets tarot readings and therapy sessions. She's transparent in how she arrives at each point in the relationship, describing building trust in the beginning and looking past the little bugs you discover about your partner. She speaks to expressing love to each other in ways the other may not be equipped to receive. 

One of my favorites is of course Practice. Saba and Woods have collaborated on each of her albums, and their writing styles are always a beautiful complement to each other. In each collaboration, the pair explores a new sound. From Practice’s upbeat bounce to BASQUIAT’s jazz-hip-hop fusion to Emerald Street’s soft lullaby feel, they always seem to make my favorite songs off each album by Woods. Practice can be interpreted in various ways. Practice reads as a mantra to lower the stakes of new love. Practice also speaks to the anxiety of first mess-ups. Instead of leading with defensiveness we find ways to express ourselves better, to communicate better. It’s a funky sound that I didn't expect upon seeing Saba’s feature, but was an instant favorite upon listening. She bears her soul on songs like Send a Dove and Backburner, describing the lengths she would go for this person, and how that fuels thoughts of jealousy, insecurity, and fear of abandonment. At turning points in relationships, pride can blur the truth but Woods chooses honesty in the face of rejection. She’s really always been this raw throughout her work. This is just the first time an entire album is dedicated to her own personal experience, stripped away to just her own thoughts and the voices of people who have helped her along the journey. The album flows just like the water, each song a new current changing the pace. 

BRIDGE MUSIC EDITOR EFUA OSEI’S JAMILA WOODS FRESH CUTS DISCOVERY PLAYLIST:

ON SPOTIFY

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