JJJJJerome Ellis Vesper Sparrow
JJJJJerome Ellis's Vesper Sparrow announces itself as a quietly radical work of concentrated feeling, one that critics argue deserves serious attention. Across three professional reviews the record earned an 83.33/100 consensus score, with reviewers repeatedly pointing to the Evensong suite and the titular piece as the album's clearest achievements. Critics note Ellis's use of stuttering-as-instrument, granular synthesis, and spare organ-and-saxophone dialogues as the mechanics that shape its emotional architecture.
The critical consensus highlights several standout tracks as exemplars of the album's aims: “Evensong, part 1 (for and after June Kramer)”, “Evensong, part 2 (for and after James Harrison Monaco)”, the centerpiece “Vesper Sparrow (feat. Haruna Lee, James Harrison Monaco, Ronald Peet, and S T A R R (busby))”, and “Savannah Sparrow (for and after Kenita Miller)”. Reviewers consistently praise how repetition, pauses and stuttered phrasing become musical techniques that foreground Blackness and gospel-inflected transcendence, while granular textures and minimalism leave space for reflection and listening. Praise across the reviews centers on texture, silence, and the saxophone/woodwind phrasing that turns small gestures into vast feeling.
While some critics stress that the record rewards patient, attentive listening rather than immediate hooks, the collective verdict is affirmative: professional reviews frame Vesper Sparrow as an accomplished, conceptually rigorous album that expands Ellis's practice into new terrain. For readers wondering whether Vesper Sparrow is good or what the best songs on Vesper Sparrow are, the consensus points to the Evensong movements and the titular tracks as essential listening. Continue below for full reviews that unpack the album's formal risks and moments of transcendent payoff.
Critics' Top Tracks
The standout songs that made critics take notice
Evensong, part 1 (for and after June Kramer)
3 mentions
"That much is revealed to the listener from the first track of ‘Evensong’, a four-part suite"— The Quietus
Vesper Sparrow (feat. Haruna Lee, James Harrison Monaco, Ronald Peet, and S T A R R (busby))
3 mentions
"But the heart of the album is where Vesper Sparrow really sings."— The Quietus
Evensong, part 2 (for and after James Harrison Monaco)
3 mentions
"These dance through to the second part of ‘Evensong’ where the modular synths return and the key drops down."— The Quietus
That much is revealed to the listener from the first track of ‘Evensong’, a four-part suite
Track Ratings
How critics rated each track, relative to this album (0-100). Only tracks that made critics feel something are rated.
Evensong, part 1 (for and after June Kramer)
Evensong, part 2 (for and after James Harrison Monaco)
Vesper Sparrow (feat. Haruna Lee, James Harrison Monaco, Ronald Peet, and S T A R R (busby))
Savannah Sparrow (for and after Kenita Miller)
Evensong, part 3 (for and after Jessica Valoris)
Evensong, part 4 (for and after okcandice)
What Critics Are Saying
Deep insights from 3 critics who reviewed this album
Critic's Take
JJJJJerome Ellis's Vesper Sparrow makes a persuasive case for itself as album of the year, with the four-part Evensong suite and the warm, organ-led Savannah Sparrow standing out. The reviewer's intense attention to Ellis's use of stuttering-as-instrument and granular synthesis explains why listeners searching for the best songs on Vesper Sparrow will find Evensong, part 1 (for and after June Kramer) and Savannah Sparrow (for and after Kenita Miller) essential. The writing emphasizes texture, space and the saxophone flourishes that make these best tracks feel both intimate and vast. This is praise delivered in close, specific detail, the sort of recommendation that answers queries for the best tracks on Vesper Sparrow directly and convincingly.
Key Points
-
The best song is the opening Evensong part because it introduces stuttering-as-instrument and expansive granular textures.
-
The album’s core strengths are its use of space, texture, and earnest transcendental feeling blending gospel and New Age elements.
Themes
Critic's Take
JJJJJerome Ellis’s Vesper Sparrow finds its clearest moments in the album’s connective tissue, most notably in Evensong, part 2 (for and after James Harrison Monaco) and Savannah Sparrow (for and after Kenita Miller). The record frames the stutter as a musical instrument, folding granular synthesis and gospel-rooted motifs into an intimate meditation - the best tracks on Vesper Sparrow are those that let silence breathe and feeling surface. Ellis wears his conceptual rigour lightly, so the best songs reward patient listening rather than instant hooks. In short, the album’s top tracks prove his mastery of musical feeling, placing him in conversation with composers like Arthur Russell and Julius Eastman.
Key Points
-
Evensong, part 2 is the album’s emotional focal point because its unfinished sentence opens a space for the record’s themes.
-
The album’s core strengths are its use of granular synthesis, the framing of disfluency as musical, and the gospel-rooted healing motifs.
Themes
Critic's Take
JJJJJerome Ellis negotiates language and sound with an intellectual, almost pedagogical calm, making Vesper Sparrow a study in small gestures and big feeling. The review circles back repeatedly to the Evensong suite and the album’s centerpiece, Vesper Sparrow, presenting them as the best songs on Vesper Sparrow because Ellis turns stutter and repetition into musical architecture. The writing places particular emphasis on Evensong, part 1 (for and after June Kramer), where pinging metallic grains bloom into dusky choral washes, and on the titular track, praised for its saxophone and pipe-organ reworking of gospel repetition. This is a soft, radical celebration of listening that makes the listener hear both the smallest grain and the whole anew.
Key Points
-
The best song is the opening Evensong, part 1 because its metallic grains bloom into dusky choral washes.
-
The album’s core strength is turning stutter and tiny sonic grains into a spiritual, attentive listening experience.