Tess Of The Circle – I’m Not Ashamed – Single Review

Source // Tess Of The Circle

Powerful? Check. Unique sound? Check. Catchy? Check. Tess Of The Circle’s new single “I’m Not Ashamed” seems to expertly tick off all initial hopes and packs a further sweet punch to the gut with how brilliantly executed it is.

Announcing its entrance with a tender intro, Tess Jones’ vocals then enter the fray with a wonderful country rock sound blended with the likes of The Jam’s Paul Weller or Blur’s Damon Albarn; a little bit of that English tonality and “twang”! As the track progresses into riffs reminiscent of Jimi Hendrix and Eric Clapton – that beautiful classic rock sound that nobody can say they dislike – we find ourselves gently tapping our fingers to the beat. Even with all of these influential styles blended together, Tess Of The Circle never once fail or falter and they seem to have given birth to something both new, yet strangely familiar.

A choir of Tess Jones’ own voice blisters in, joining the guitars and drums midway through, singing the eponymous song title behind the lyrics “what you say is clouded then changed”. We’re not ashamed to say it, this track simply makes you smile with glee! It’s not often you hear this style pulled off particularly well these days and it’s easy to see why there’s such a buzz around Tess Of The Circle at the moment.

The only deliberation we’re having in deciding whether it’s good or bad is the length; we wanted more! We wanted it to break down into an instrumental with a lead solo, maybe a bass and drum solo too for good measure! We wanted the chorus replayed again, that mighty orchestra of rock….really bleeding it dry until there is absolutely nothing left to give!

But, on the other hand, “I’m Not Ashamed” is short and sweet. It doesn’t throw anything into the mix for the sake of length, it doesn’t attempt a solo when one doesn’t belong and it doesn’t lose your interest. Ever. Simply put, “I’m Not Ashamed” does exactly what it needs to do as a single, it has ably demonstrated Tess Of The Circle’s artistic ability and talent….and man are they talented! Plus, there’s always the replay button! 8/10