Caught In a Jam

BELLO MINIONS TONIGHT WE LISTEN TO THE NEW PORTRAITS OF TRACY SONG

I always get a little nervous when an artist I really like drops new music. There’s this weird pressure where I almost feel guilty if I don’t immediately connect with it but with “Caught in a Jam,” from the very first play, I was INTOOOO IT.

If you don’t know Portraits Of Tracy, she is a Black, queer artist from Baton Rouge with elements of classic rock, hip-hop, R&B, soul, and psychedelic indie rock.

"Caught In A Jam” feels like a bridge into new territory for portraits of Tracy after Drive Home. It still has all the little details that make Tracy’s music feel so distinctly hers, but it feels very noir. Not in a cheesy, trench coat and rain-soaked alley kind of way, but more like a chase scene happening under purple streetlights.

In an article for The Line of Best Fit, Tracy notes that “Caught In A Jam Is a brash love letter to bands such as: Squeeze, Gary Numan, Tom Tom Club & Queen," Portraits of Tracy explains of the single. "Space age obsession meets the sound and the urgency of the late 70s."

There’s a certain bounce to the production that caught me off guard. The synth panning could have easily felt distracting, but instead it’s super groovy, moving the song around without ever pulling you out of it or feeling like it’s distracting. It reminded me a little of early Gwen Stefani for some reason, especially in the way the track plays with attitude and movement. It has that same cool pop instinct but filtered through Tracy’s own world if that makes sense.

One of my favorite moments is the middle transition, where the kick suddenly feels like it gets a bit more thump behind it. I don’t know the technical term for it, but it gives the song this extra umf. (Perhaps the compression was increased during that section).

I’ve always loved Tracy’s chord progressions, and “Caught in a Jam” is another reminder of why. Her beats always feel unmistakably hers, but they never feel copied which is hard to do.

“Caught in a Jam” doesn’t sound like Tracy’s trying to repeat what’s already worked for her in the past. It sounds like she’s building a new planet/world from a solar system we’ve already enjoyed.

I also decided to flip the song for fun so here’s that flip!