Pratt was raised by her mother, who exposed her to a broad range of artists, including Tim Buckley, X, and the Gun Club. She learned to play the guitar around the age of 15, after her older brother gave up playing his Stratocaster. She took his guitar and started practising with the T. Rex album, Electric Warrior. She was soon able to play the guitar parts of the whole record. She eventually began recording songs at the age of 16, using her mother's Fender guitar amp and microphone.
After she moved to San Francisco, she was introduced to Tim Presley's solo project, White Fence, through Presley's brother, who was her roommate for three years. In the following years, Presley heard Pratt's demo songs through her then-boyfriend, who had posted her songs on Facebook. He eventually contacted her to release her music.
Pratt's self-titled debut album was released in 2012 through Presley's label, Birth Records. Produced by Craig Gotsill, the album featured the songs that were originally recorded in 2007 over analogue tape. The initial 500 pressings of the sold out in less than two weeks. It received attention from many music websites and magazines, including Pitchfork (website), Consequence of Sound[3] and PopMatters.
In January 2014, she revealed the studio version of a new track, "Game That I Play."
In October 2014, Pratt announced her sophomore album, On Your Own Love Again.
In October 2018, she announced her third album, Quiet Signs, and released a video for a new track, "This Time Around." Pitchfork reviewed the song, giving it the Best New Music designation and noting a stylistic shift, comparing it to "a Tropicalia version of a Christmas song, or a ’60s jukebox standard playing in a beach town diner during the off-season."
According to Philip Cosores of Consequence of Sound, Pratt's music "displays a lyrical and musical range without straying from a palette of picked acoustic guitar and raw, bending vocals" and nods to "60′s folk, California classic rock, and the early 2000′s freak folk." She is compared to various folk artists, including Joni Mitchell, Joan Baez, Sibylle Baier, David Crosby and Karen Dalton. She also expressed admiration for Ariel Pink.
Bushel Hyde
Jessica Pratt Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Words mean more that they did before in that other place
In the time before us
There was a time before us
In the time before us
If you leave here you had better know which way you had better go
Time was longer than when we were in that other place
Wills were harder than ever than in that other place
In the time above us
In the time below us
In the time between us
Sinse you've left here you had better show which way does the spirit go
Because you left you know which way it goes
The song “Bushel Hyde” by Jessica Pratt is an ethereal and haunting melody that speaks to the uncertainties that plague human existence. The song opens with the line, “I am calling out to you from the nother place.” The “nother place” is a metaphorical place that may be perceived as a spiritual realm, a place of fantasy, or an alternative reality. The singer seems to be calling out to someone, asking them to connect with her in a different and more meaningful way.
As the song progresses, the singer intimates that words now carry more weight than before in that “other place.” This suggests that the communication happening there is on a more profound level than is otherwise possible in real life. The song goes on to reflect on the past, and the singer references the “time before us,” underlining the sense of mystery that surrounds this other realm. The lyrics state that “time was longer than when we were in that other place” and that “wills were harder than ever than in that other place,” further emphasizing the sense of otherworldliness that pervades the song.
The overall impression left by the song is one of existential uncertainty and longing. The singer seems to be searching for meaning and connection in a world that is plagued by confusion and incoherence. The lyrics evoke feelings of nostalgia and a desire for connection to a time and place that is beyond the reach of our mundane existence.
Line by Line Meaning
I am calling out to you from the nother place
I am trying to get your attention from a distant, unfamiliar location
Words mean more that they did before in that other place
The significance of language is greater here than in my previous location
In the time before us
There was a period of existence that preceded ours
There was a time before us
Our existence has not always been the present reality
In the time before us
There was a period of existence that preceded ours
If you leave here you had better know which way you had better go
It is crucial to have a clear direction in mind before departing from here
Because you know which way the spirit goes
You are aware of the path that the intangible essence of life follows
Time was longer than when we were in that other place
The temporal aspect of reality was of greater magnitude in that unfamiliar location
Wills were harder than ever than in that other place
It was much more challenging to impose one's own individual purpose in that unfamiliar location
In the time above us
There is a period of existence that is superior to ours
In the time below us
There is a period of existence that is inferior to ours
In the time between us
There is a period of existence that exists in the space between us
Sinse you've left here you had better show which way does the spirit go
Now that you are no longer here, it is necessary to demonstrate which route the intangible essence of existence takes
Because you left you know which way it goes
Your departure has given you knowledge of the path that the intangible essence of life follows
Writer(s): Jessica Pratt
Contributed by Julia N. Suggest a correction in the comments below.