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Jelly Road
Jelly Road
Studio album by Blake Mills
Released	July 14, 2023
Studio	Sound City Studios, Los Angeles, California, US
Genre	Experimental rock
Length	45:40
Language	English
Label	New Deal Records/Verve Forecast
Producer	Blake Mills; Chris Weisman;
Blake Mills chronology

I don't necessarily make records with a lot of a mission statement. Other than having songs written, you're kind of going out on the lake with a fishing pole. You know there's fish there. You don't know how long it's going to take for you to catch one. You might have a day where for some reason you don't catch anything. That's what it's like to go into the studio when I'm making most things. Certainly solo records.

—Blake Mills on his approach to writing and recording albums^[3]

Jelly Road is a 2023 album by American singer-songwriter Blake Mills. It has received positive reviews from critics and was promoted with a concert tour alongside collaborator Chris Weisman^[4] and the singles "Skeleton Is Walking"^[5] and "There Is No Now".^[6] The album marks a return to recording from Mills who had focused on production and collaboration on others' albums and features his first time being co-produced by an outside musician^[2] and features extensive co-writing by Weisman who had previously worked with Mills on Daisy Jones & the Six.^[7]

Reception

Editors at The Fader chose Jelly Road to be among the best music of the week.^[8] Writing for Mojo, James McNair rated this album 4 out of 5 stars, calling it "experimental yet accessible" and comparing the music to The Band and Fleetwood Mac.^[9] Critics for NPR's All Songs Considered included this among the notable releases of the week.^[10] At Pitchfork, Evan Minsker shortlisted this as one of the best albums of the week^[11] and critic Allison Hussey rated it an 8.0 out of 10, calling it "smooth and satisfying from start to finish" and "an invigorating listen" akin to hauntology.^[1] At Uncut, Sam Richards rated this release 4 out of 5 stars for showing that Mills is "a person who cares deeply – even obsessively – about his chosen artform, and its ability to delight, console and transform"^[12] and the publication's editors named it the 43rd best album of 2023.^[13]

Track listing

All songs written by Blake Mills and Chris Weisman, except where noted.

"Suchlike Horses" – 5:13
"Highway Bright" – 3:24
"Jelly Road" (Ben Aylon, Blake Mills, and Chris Weisman) – 2:55
"Skeleton Is Walking" – 5:58
"Unsingable" – 3:02
"Wendy Melvoin" – 2:58
"The Light Is Long" – 3:14
"Breakthrough Moon" – 4:28
"There Is No Now" – 2:20
"Press My Luck" – 4:34
"A Fez" (Cass McCombs, Mills, and Weisman) – 3:15
"Without an Ending" – 4:19

Personnel

"Suchlike Horses"

Blake Mills – acoustic guitar, rubber-bridge acoustic guitar, fretless sustainer guitar, Paradis Avalon guitar, inverted tuning acoustic guitar, ARP 2600 synthesizer, Fender Rhodes electric piano, upright piano, vocals
G. Weller – acoustic guitar
Gabi Zachetto – vocals

"Highway Bright"

Blake Mills – drums, percussion, hard right electric bass guitar, harmonium, grand piano, celesta, Paradis Avalon guitar, prepared electric guitar, vocals
Sam Gendel – bass saxophone
Wendy Melvoin – prepared electric guitar
Chris Weisman – drums, percussion, hard left electric bass guitar, synthesizer guitar, celesta, prepared electric guitar

"Jelly Road"

Blake Mills – acoustic guitar upright bass, inverted tuning acoustic guitar, rubber-bridge electric guitar, June 106 synthesizer, rubber-bridge tenor bass guitar, guitar synthesizer, vocals
Wendy Melvoin – vocals
Abe Rounds – drums
Chris Weisman – Yamaha Venova soprano saxophone, Fender Rhodes electric piano, vocals

"Skeleton Is Walking"

Blake Mills – acoustic guitar, inverted tuning acoustic guitar, upright bass, fretless sustainer guitar, Juno 106 synthesizer, DX100 synthesizer, percussion, vocals
Abe Rounds – drums
Kyle Thomas – electric tremolo guitar, percussion
Chris Weisman – acoustic guitar, Yamaha Venova soprano saxophone, percussion

"Unsingable"

Blake Mills – upright piano, fretless sustainer guitar, vocals
Sam Gendel – electronic wind controller
Abe Rounds – drums, percussion
Chris Weisman – Yamaha Venova soprano saxophone

"Wendy Melvoin"

Blake Mills – harmonica, acoustic guitar, upright bass, fretless sustainer guitar
Sam Gendel – contrabass recorder
Larry Goldings – upright piano Akai S612 sampler, DX100 synthesizer
Abe Rounds – drums, percussion

"The Light Is Long"

Blake Mills – acoustic guitar, upright bass, percussion, fretless sustainer guitar, vocals
Teddy Geiger – percussion
Sam Gendel – electronic wind controller
Chris Weisman – inverted tuning acoustic guitar, Yamaha Venova soprano saxophone

"Breakthrough Moon"

Blake Mills – electric guitar, slide guitar, electric bass guitar, acoustic guitar, Paradis Avalon guitar, percussion, vocals
Meg Duffy – vocals
Stuart Johnson – drums
Roger Manning Jr. – Acetone organ, Hammond C3 organ
Kane Ritchotte – percussion

"There Is No Now"

Blake Mills – acoustic guitar, percussion, tuned percussion, electric bass guitar, fretless sustainer guitar, synthesizer, vocals
Sam Gendel – contrabass recorder
Abe Rounds – drums, percussion
Chris Weisman – grand piano

"Press My Luck"

Blake Mills – acoustic guitar, grand piano, rubber-bridge tenor bass guitar, Paradis Avalon guitar, vocals
Abe Rounds – drums
Wendy Melvoin – electric wah-wah guitar
Chris Weisman – grand piano solo

"A Fez"

Blake Mills – acoustic guitar, inverted tuning rubber-bridge slide electric guitar, upright bass, vocals

"Without an Ending"

Blake Mills – electric guitar, electric bass guitar, percussion, grand piano, fretless sustainer guitar, vocals
Sam Gendel – saxophone
Jesca Hoop – vocals

Technical personnel

Julian Chavez – album design, package design
Daniel Krieger – mastering for vinyl at SST, Frankfurt, Germany
Joseph Lorge – recording, mixing, photography
Blake Mills – mixing, production, photography
Mike Piscitelli – cover photography
Patricia Sullivan – mastering at Bernie Grudman Mastering at Hollywood, California, United States
Kyle Thomas – photography, album design
Chris Weisman – production, photography