Reviewed by Tony Cummings

In these download-saturated times, thousands of hopeful singer/songwriters put their singles on iTunes/YouTube every week. Most languish in complete obscurity with tiny sales and shattered dreams for the simple reason that such is the technology available to the majority of even the most inexperienced musicians, just about anybody can write a song and put together a bedroom recording of it. Writing a song is easy. Writing a GOOD song is hard. And writing, singing and recording a song on a tiny budget good enough to get radio play on three FM radio stations (like Cross Rhythms) is very, very hard. The fact that this young lady from Farnworth has achieved such a feat with "Someone Else's War" says much for Jess' talent and determination. "You don't know what you're fighting for/You're just a casualty in someone else's war," Jesses sings in a brittle, bitter-sweet voice over a track which builds from simple acoustic guitar to an effective, but not overblown, full band climax. Marvellous stuff.

The opinions expressed in this article are not necessarily those held by Cross Rhythms. Any expressed views were accurate at the time of publishing but may or may not reflect the views of the individuals concerned at a later date.

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