When asked to put her music into three simple words, Jess Hieser chose passionate, lyrical, and powerful. Driven to write poetry from a young age, she eventually made the leap from writing poetry to putting her poems to simple guitar chords—and the result was something unique and even esoteric. The form and patterns of her lyrics are a contrast to the formatted sounding pop lyrics we’re so used to hearing and provide for interesting rhythmic structures to her songs. Lyrics delivered from the heart make it easy for her to dig in and put every ounce of her energy into her vocal delivery. Take her song “Life”, which you can stream on her Facebook band page. It’s pretty unforgettable with its melancholy chord progression and that Bjork-esque huskiness to her voice, which builds up to an outro where she sounds like she could be singing in a windstorm, facing an imminent Armageddon. Aside from that one song, you’ll just have to come out and see her play live. Thanks to the Songwriting Collective she founded, Jess Hieser has gotten gigs in some of Melbourne’s top venues and festivals including The Evelyn, The Corner Hotel, Bar 303, Toff in Town, and more. That might just give her the edge she needs this Saturday, May 10th when she goes on stage at The Espy for round one in Emergenza Festival Australia. Look forward to a gut-wrenchingly passionate performance. More details on the show here.