Biography

Toledo, OH's Jessica Bailiff began recording in 1995 and sent a demo to Kranky Records at the suggestion of Low's Alan Sparhawk. In 1998, Bailiff's excellent debut appeared on the racks, bearing the Kranky logo. The largely slow-tempo material of Even in Silence, full of blurry effects and buried vocals, earned positive shoegaze and slowcore comparisons. Hour of the Trace followed a year later, which wasn't too far removed from the sound of her debut. A dark self-titled LP arrived in 2002, gaining rave reviews from outsider sound magazines like The Wire. In 2003, Bailiff collaborated with Flying Saucer Attack's Dave Pearce on a project called Clear Horizon. The duo's sole self-titled album, a wash of white noise and murky folk songs, was released on Kranky later that year. Collaboration became a large part of Bailiff's creative output, and the 2000's saw her working with acts such as Odd Nosdam, Flashpapr, Casino Versus Japan, Rivulets, His Name Is Alive and many others. In 2006 she resurfaced with Feels Like Home, a largely acoustic album inspired in part by 70's UK folk. Old Things, a collection of tracks from out-of-print singles or compilations surfaced the next year, but it wouldn't be until 2012 that Bailiff returned with her next proper full length, the cryptically titled At the Down-Turned Jagged Rim of the Sky. ~ Andy Kellman, Rovi