Jolie Laide

Jolie Laide is the debut album by American–Canadian rock duo Jolie Laide, which consists of American singer-songwriter Nina Nastasia and Canadian musician Jeff MacLeod. The album was released on vinyl and digital download by Oscar St. Records on November 17, 2023.

Background and recording
Jolie Laide is a collaboration between singer-songwriter Nina Nastasia and Florida BC and The Cape May musician Jeff MacLeod. The name is a French term which loosely translates to "pretty ugly". Nastasia and MacLeod first met in the mid-2000s at Steve Albini's Electrical Audio studio in Chicago, when Nastasia and The Cape May were recording their respective 2006 albums On Leaving and Glass Mountain Roads. When Nastasia's regular band became unavailable to tour in support of On Leaving, she invited The Cape May to appear as her opening act and her backing band on an American and European tour in support of On Leaving.

Prior to the release of Nastasia's previous album Riderless Horse in 2022, she said she had been working with a Canadian band on a follow-up album. In August 2022, she confirmed Florida BC was the band she was working with, and that they planned to record another album together.

Composition and style
Many of the lyrics on the album were inspired by Nastasia's childhood growing up near North Vine Street in Hollywood, Los Angeles. The album was written concurrently with Riderless Horse, with Nastasia writing lyrics to the instrumental tracks MacLeod created. After years of living in New York City, Nastasia said MacLeod's music reminded her of her childhood, and said "pretty much the whole record to me sounded like the West Coast." She also said a running theme of the album lyrically was feeling "trapped in misery", and said this was inspired by her 26-year relationship with manager Kennan Gudjonsson, whom she accused of coercive control.

The first song on the album is "Pacific Coast Highway", named after the eponymous highway. Nastasia said that during her youth she spent "many more miles than I can count on the Pacific Coast Highway", and that to her the highway "represents to me the freedom that comes with youth and the pure joy that comes with being unafraid." Billboard described the song as possessing a "stormy foundation, with a cracked guitar-and-drums arrangement that threatens to explode, although Nastasia also communicates a calmness while extolling the peace and freedom of her subject."

"Move Away Towns" was inspired by Nastasia's relationship with Gudjonsson. She explained that the two were "together constantly", elaborating: "you're with someone and you're not tied to anything, you're not tied to that actual person, you're not tied to a place, you're kind of drifting. These characters are kind of grifters. You don't have a job, you don't have anything. You're just kind of running around free. It was so appealing to me for so long. It almost feels unnatural to be tied to one place or person." She said the song "captures the moments of blissful freedom before the dust inevitably settles and what was once excitement and ease turns to dullness, resentment and hard work." BrooklynVegan said the song's backing track finds the duo in "soft, dreamy territory."

Nastasia said "Away Too Soon" and "Why I Drink" were songs inspired by feeling "trapped in your misery", but said they contained a "back and forth, certainly that I was feeling like wanting to never die or anything, but just being kind of overwhelmed and consumed" by her relationship with Gudjonsson. "Death of Money" relates to "super-romantic ideas of relationships, whether they're dark or light, they're just like this romantic extreme." MacLeod wrote the lyric "Old joy, wanting for nothing but good weather". "My Darling" is a murder ballad, while "God of Gamblers" is about "getting involved with a narcissist or somebody that sort of takes over and controls you". "Isolation View" deals with heroin use, and album closer "Blue As Blue" is about "being in [a relationship] that is just killing you", noting the lyric "Why do we pull the trigger to each other's chest?".

Release and promotion
"Pacific Coast Highway" was released as a single and music video on September 6, 2023. Nastasia said the music video was inspired by childhood nostalgia. "Why I Drink" was released as a single on October 4, followed by "Move Away Towns" on November 8. A music video for the latter was also released the same day. The album was released on vinyl and digitally on November 17, by Kathryn Calder's Oscar St. Records.

Critical reception
Emma Madden of Pitchfork described the album as "a kind of travelogue that traces the line between freedom and empty aimlessness" as well as "a lonesome, deliberate meditation on memory, freedom, and loss". Madden found that it "has a clear narrative and novelistic form" and "by the album's middle, romantic disequilibrium gives way to the volatility of alcohol. MacLeod's guitar grows hazier, Nastasia's voice more lethargic".

Credits and personnel
Credits adapted from the liner notes of Jolie Laide.


 * Jolie Laide is Nina Nastasia and Jeff MacLeod.
 * Nina Nastasia's vocals and guitar recorded by Tim Midyett at Cinquantacinque, Chicago.
 * All other recording by Chris Dadge at Child Stone Studios.
 * Mixed by Colin Stewart at The Hive Studios.
 * Mastered by Bob Weston at Chicago Mastering Service.

Personnel
 * Nina Nastasia – vocals and acoustic guitar
 * Jeff MacLeod – backing vocals, guitar, bass, organ, drums, cover
 * Clinton St. John – backing vocals
 * Chris Dadge – additional percussion and engineering
 * Stephen Burchill – layout and design, cover