My wife and I went on a 2-day vacation, our first trip away in over a year and a half. We slept a lot, ate a lot, missed our son a lot, and need to do it a lot more. They say parenthood these days is basically a medical condition, so we need to take our own advice and take care of ourselves more frequently.

Big ups to having a kid people don’t mind watching —and grandparents who will travel all the way from Texas to wake up at 6 AM to play Mouse Trap 50 times in a row.

Now on to the music!

Madi Diaz - Weird Faith (released Feb 9, 2024)

So for those who don’t remember what we’re doing now, here’s the gist. Each week I will highlight an album I listened to the week before (that I liked, who has time for negativity?), share a song from the album with my son, get his opinion, and then based on his Yay/Nay, add the song to my “Nu Rock” playlist.

This week, as is now abundantly clear, we listened to “Weird Faith” by Madi Diaz, a singer-songrwriter who is by no means a newbie, but who is finally coming into her own as a musician. Her path from small-town Pennsylvania to the revered Berklee School of Music to Nashville to LA to touring with Harry Styles is one for the books. It’s also a good reminder that a weird winding career path is sometimes the most fun and rewarding (I can also attest to this).

Weird Faith is actually Diaz’s sixth album since 2007, but for good reason, it feels in many ways like a debut. It’s easy to call this a folk album, but if you’re thinking front porch swings and escaping to a cabin in the woods, you may be disappointed. That’s not to say that there aren’t acoustic guitars and introspective songs about love and life.

But there are also polished production flourishes on songs like “Get to Know Me” and “KFM” that show how much Diaz has learned creating music for such a wide range of musicians. It’s a folk album for people who live in the city yet retreat to nature as often as they can.

Perhaps the whole album can actually be summed up with the first lyric on opener “Same Risk.” Already tired and distraught, Diaz intones: “ What the f**k do you want?” She later follows this cheerful question up with a couple more: “Do you think this will ruin your life?… Are you going to throw me under the bus?” While her music is assured, it’s clear her personal relationships are not quite as certain.

“For Months Now” is the sound of a relationship that needs to end that isn’t over yet. “I’ve been leaving you for months now / I just haven’t found a way out / I don’t love you like I used to / I just don’t know how to tell you.” Ouch. I like to think this song is the push she needed to get out. The song ends with what can only be called a cathartic drum beat and Diaz’s echo-y, almost angelic singing. She repeats over and over: “When I love you / I hate you the most.” Whether you’re 25 or 250, that’s a feeling we’ve all had at one point or another.

This is an album about relationships, yes, but also how relationships are almost always forcing two very different people together. Communication is not something you ever perfect, and finding your people is a lifelong journey. Weird Faith is one of those rare albums that is so much about youthful pain and uncertainty, but also one that meets the listener wherever they are in life. On the Kacey Musgraves-featuring “Don’t Do Me No Good,” we hear, “I know loving you / It don’t do me no good.” But an album like Weird Faith is healing in its honesty, it’s willingness to document the messiness of life, and a reminder that even when it feels like we’re stuck, there are so many ways out.

Is it Jack’s Jam?

Haha, nope! Not even a little bit! I tried a couple songs, but despite my insistence that not all music has to sound like Imagine Dragons, he wasn’t quite patient enough when I said that the song gets catchy 3 minutes in. This was not unexpected, but the point here is not to necessarily cater to his tastes. I want to help him expand and grow and learn. That said, I probably should take baby steps (pun intended) and maybe ease him into a slow-burning folk album, especially when the song that played before Madi Diaz was “Miami” by Will Smith.

So we’ll try again and see what happens.

Well that was fun! You can check out Madi Diaz at all the usual spots. Or head to her website HERE.

See you next week. Will we find a new JackJam? Only time (and my Spotify algorithm) will tell.

BLAKE (p.s. if you have an album you think me or Jack would like, just reply to this email!)