Chicago-based psychedelic folk songwriter Jessica Risker’s shares her third single “4am” off her upcoming album, Calendar Year. With her first album in seven years, she’s sharing her new music on vinyl via Island House Recordings, and digitally through AWAL, with the album out on Friday, August 1st. The new single features Sam Cantor (Minor Moon) on electric guitar and Maria Jacobson (Fran) on background vocals.
Under The Radar shared the new single, writing, “Risker crafts a suitably spectral atmosphere, encircling the track in a meandering haze of guitars and ghostly textures. The distant wail of slide guitar creates an otherworldly mood while Risker’s softly sung vocals offer a warm companion through the shadowy melodic maze.”
Shindig! Magazine shared the announcement last month with “City Hours”, along with Raven Sings The Blues, who wrote of the previous single, “While the first single seemed aligned with the gentle grace of Jennifer Castle or Jessica Pratt, there’s more of a lean on percussive burble this time around, feeling like a kindred spirit to Kate Bollinger’s sun-swaddled psych-pop or the dizzying haze of Vanishing Twin.”
NPR Music shared her music previously, commenting on her social work and licensed therapist background: ” Her songs exude a mix of introspection and universal observations you might expect from someone who spends their days helping people navigate their lives” and noted that her music is full of “delicate, slightly trippy folk songs.”
Risker said of the new single, “it’s a song about that late night, anxious desperation when you’re falling in love, and terrified of losing it. I wanted the song to sound very expansive, transportative. We are always trying to blend organic instruments with warm psychedelic electronics; Joshua Wentz (who plays synths and other electronics) is a master at that. For ‘4am’ Josh performed a slide-guitar inspired sound on his Korg Minilogue, which started pushing it very faintly into this alt-country psychedelic realm.”
She continued, “After the band laid down our base tracks, the song felt good but the sound felt a little thin overall, so I asked Sam Cantor (Minor Moon) if he could come for a session. Sam added some gorgeous electric guitar riffs, which rounded the sound out perfectly. I really love how this one turned out; it’s especially good on headphones at night.”
Risker recorded the album with Dave Vettraino (Dehd, Deeper, Lala Lala) and Carl Saff (Bonnie Prince Billy, Sonic Youth) mastered it. Her band includes Joshua Wentz (synths, electronics), Brian Weza (bass), and Steve Plock (drums). The album also features guest musicians, including Sam Cantor of Minor Moon on guitar and Maria Jacobson (Fran) on background vocals for “4am,” and the upcoming album also features Jacobson on flute as well as Macie Stewart (Finom) on strings.
In Shindig! Magazine’s recent May issue, they wrote the first single (“Sipping in the Sunshine”) is “a perfect soundtrack to daydream to as spring turns into summer.” Raven Sings The Blues also wrote of the first single, “Laced with delicate strums, organ, and breezy flute, the song is saturated with a pastoral air that feels good on the skin.”
The new singles and upcoming record follow her 2019 single “The Waves” and her 2018 album I See You Among the Stars, both released off of Western Vinyl.
In the last few years since she last released music, she founded and runs the podcast Music Therapy with Jessica Risker, where she’s interviewed Salami Rose Joe Louis, Friko, Jason Balla of Dehd, author and Pitchfork writer Jenn Pelly, and more.
Jessica Risker will be releasing Calendar Year on vinyl with Island House Recordings on August 1st, 2025, with the final single “He’s Gone” out on July 23rd.
Jessica Risker is a musician and visual artist based in Chicago, Illinois. From 2011 to 2018, Risker performed and released albums under the name Deadbeat. In 2018, Risker signed with Western Vinyl with the release of the full-length I See You Among The Stars and began performing as Jessica Risker.
Risker’s music fluctuates between electro-psychedelic/experimental albums, instrumental music box lullabies, and psych-folk songs. From the dream-soaked harmonies of “Moon” to the neopsychedelic/garage rocker ’Won’t You Meet Us In Vegas?’, Risker’s continuous genre shifting is inspired by dual desires to 1) experiment with soundscapes made possible by modern recording techniques, and 2) craft melodies, lyrics, and structures pared down to their most basic elements.
Her bandmates are essential to her new music, including Joshua Wentz (synths/electronix), Brian Weza (bass), and Steven Plock (drumz). Jessica Risker will be releasing Calendar Year via Island House Recordings on August 1st, 2025.
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