Joan As Police Woman – Lemons, Limes and Orchids (PIAS) 13th Floor Album Review

Three years after her last album, The Solution Is Restless, Joan As Police Woman (Joan Wasser) returns with Lemons, Limes and Orchids. While her previous collaboration with Tony Allen and Dave Okumu had an Afrobeat influence, this new album takes a different turn. Collaborating once again with Benjamin Lazar Davis, with whom she previously worked on her 2016 album Let It Be You, Wasser explores themes of love and loss on both personal and collective levels.

This album is rooted in jazz but weaves in elements of soul and experimental sounds. In addition to Wasser’s own piano and strings, the album features contributions from Meshell Ndegeocello on bass, Chris Bruce on guitar, Daniel Mintseris on keys, and drummers Parker Kindred and Otto Hauser. Their combined efforts create a sultry, late-night jazz atmosphere filled with dark, mellow piano and percussion. The live recording of Wasser’s vocals adds a raw and intimate feel, which she accurately describes as her “sexiest album” to date.

The title Lemons, Limes and Orchids reflects the album’s blend of contrasting elements—lemons and limes being sour, while orchids are delicate and beautiful. There is a similar dichotomy in the album’s lyrics and music, which mix optimism with melancholy. The arrangements include string flourishes, intricate piano melodies and compelling percussion, with the use of synthesisers adding emotional depth.

The album opens with The Dream, a synthesiser and percussion-led track that leads the listener into Wasser’s world, envisioning a dream man. This is followed by Full-Time Heist, a moody piano ballad where Wasser uses the metaphor of a bank robbery to describe meeting someone obsessed with the need for praise.

Back Again shifts to a Motown-style pop sound with a persuasive plea in its ballad lyrics. The building percussion magnifies the impact of Wasser’s yearning vocals as she sings, “I can’t hold out any longer.” In the sensual With Hope In My Breath, slow-paced drums and keys accompany her evocative lyrics, expressing a sense of longing.

Long For Ruin, the album’s lead single, opens in an almost industrial style with distorted guitars and rolling drums, as Wasser reflects on humanity’s need to reconnect and listen. Her call to “slow this slide into Babylon” is a powerful message wrapped in an intense musical backdrop.

Started Off Free showcases the emotional depth of Wasser’s voice with its jazz elements, contrasting with the more experimental Remember The Voice, which drives home a sense of urgency with electronic edges and percussive beats.

Oh Joan is a personally named and self-reflective track with a circling drum motif that reflects the intimate, repetitive questioning lyric “what is there to be done.” The title track, Lemons, Limes and Orchids, is the standout and longest track on the album. Wasser’s tender voice speaks directly about human suffering and struggles. The use of wind instruments, guitar, and piano complement her voice and add to it’s intensity.

The album closes with three tracks: Tribute To Holding On, a defiant soul ballad with laid-back vocals; the jazzy  Safe to Say, where lyrics tumble over snappy drum patterns; and Help Is On Its Way, a piano-driven ballad that captures both flippancy and dread. Wasser’s voice merges with the synth notes to bring a peaceful close to this reflective album.

Lemons, Limes and Orchids is a deeply engaging album that blends sultry jazz with elements of soul and experimentation. It is a compelling blend of optimism and melancholy, the personal and the global, and showcases Wasser’s emotional depth and musical robustness. The album feels both intimate and expansive, offering listeners a journey through the complexities of love and loss whilst sitting in an intimate jazz clubs with outstanding musicians.

John Bradbury

Lemons, Limes and Orchids by Joan As Police Woman
is out September 20 on Play It Again Sam (PIAS)
Pre-save: https://joanaspolicewoman.ffm.to/llando