“Oof.” That’s my one-word review of Angie Wells’ second album. What does it mean? Why, all manner of things… Oh, you want me to elaborate? But I’m supposed to knock off for Christmas at five and there’s a lot to unpack… Okay, okay—one last critique for 2023.
Wells is a successful Hollywood makeup artist with two Emmy nominations under her brush belt—not the most pertinent detail, perhaps, but that’s on top of being a singer-songwriter winning plaudits from jazz writers all over the US and Europe. Doubly impressive, don’t you think? Truth Be Told is her second album, after 2017’s Love and Mischief—which was dubbed “terrific,” “beautiful” and “burn-the-barn smoldering” by critics.
Far from being a simple collection of old standards, Truth Be Told is a rollercoaster ride through the emotional landscape of modern life in a car built from jazz, blues, and soul—some classic, and some new. It’s not uncommon for an album to make me smile, laugh, clap, cheer, or dance with joy, but I can’t remember the last time one brought out such a range of feelings, beyond simple delight. There have been a couple that made me wince, but I’m struggling to remember another one that made me well up with grief. Truth Be Told managed that three times: once with “Where the Livin’ is Good,” once during “Nick of Time,” and again with the title track.
The
