Jessica Winter My First Album

Critic's Take

Jessica Winter presents My First Album as a scrapbook of influences, where the best tracks - “To Know Her” and “Worst Person In The World” - show her personality peeking through. Kate French-Morris writes with amused precision, praising the Garbage-esque grit of “All I Ever Really Wanted” and the theatrical closing of “To Know Her”. The record’s hooky, Kylie-tinged trio and maximal pop moments land, even if the pastiche sometimes leaves you asking who Winter herself is. For listeners hunting the best songs on My First Album, those title moments and the alt-rock numbers make the strongest case.

Key Points

• The best song is the closing “To Know Her” because it gives Winter a distinct voice and quoted lyric of agency.
• The album’s core strengths are its hooky, referential pop craftsmanship and convincing alt-90s rock moments.

Themes

Critic's Take

An effortlessly chic songwriter, Jessica Winter makes My First Album feel like a long-awaited, deliciously dark synth-pop triumph. The review highlights standout songs such as “Nirvana” and “L.O.V.E.” as signature moments - “Nirvana” opens with immersive, uber-gothic 90s sonics while “L.O.V.E.” is a ridiculously infectious pop thumper. The record bounces between immediacy and depth, from the giddy self-loathing of “Worst Person In The World” to the icy shimmer of “Only Lonely”, making the best tracks on My First Album both bold and addictive.

Key Points

• The best song is “Nirvana” because it sets an immersive, uber-gothic tone and features distinctive production details like sitar.
• The album’s core strengths are its immaculate songcraft, dark synth-pop production, and a balance of immediacy and emotional depth.

Themes

Critic's Take

Jessica Winter opens My First Album like a ghoulish David Bowie western and never stops being gloriously strange, which makes the best tracks - “Nirvana”, “L.O.V.E.” and “Big Star” - feel incandescent. The reviewer revels in Winter's knack for marrying euphoric production with anxious confessionals, so “L.O.V.E.” reads as a goose-bumping anthem while “Feels Good (For Tonight)” leans into Kylie-esque nu-disco joy. Campy, referential power-pop like “Big Star” cements her queer-pop credentials and, together with the frantic glam of “Worst Person In The World”, maps the album's romanticised insecurity. Winter's debut is by turns indulgent and assured, a record that is really good fun and, frankly, a little bit weird.

Key Points

• The best song is 'L.O.V.E.' because it pairs insatiable love-addiction lyrics with a goose-bumping, euphoric anthem.
• The album's core strengths are its campy queer-pop references, confident production, and the blend of euphoric sounds with anxious, romantic lyricism.

Themes

Critic's Take

Jessica Winter's My First Album is a gleefully jarring, idiosyncratic art-pop record where the best songs - notably “All I Ever Really Wanted” and “Wannabe” - crystallise her flair for off-kilter hooks and cabaret-infused theatrics. The reviewer relishes how tracks such as “Aftersun” and “Worst Person In The World” sketch her theatrical range, and how the midpoint peak formed by “All I Ever Really Wanted” and “Wannabe” captures her mainstream-savvy eccentricity. It reads like a musical at its most weird, an album that knowingly straddles concept and reality while delivering memorable, buoyant singles.

Key Points

• The best song(s), especially “All I Ever Really Wanted”, crystallise Jessica's knack for off-kilter, mainstream-ready pop.
• The album's core strengths are theatrical cabaret-infused art-pop, campy punk touches, and an idiosyncratic, musical-like ambition.

Themes