Jessica Willis Fisher has spent much of her life onstage. She first became known through The Willis Clan, then stepped out on her own with a solo record and the memoir Unspeakable, in which she wrote about surviving abuse. On Blooming, she sounds interested in what comes after starting over. When we talked on Curious Goldfish, she described making art as part of the healing she expects to keep doing throughout her life.
“Healing” asks a question that gets to the heart of the record:
“If it was unchangeable then how did we start to heal? / And love is healing me now”
She remembers the pain clearly. The song lets love, including love for herself, exist alongside that memory. Fisher told me that after The Willis Clan, she did a lot of soul searching. In 2022 she released her first solo album and a memoir, turned 30 and decided she was starting over.
“I think I have embraced the idea that there's a lot of processing and healing and recovery that I will be doing my whole life, and art is a big part of that. So there's like therapeutic meaningful things for me personally on kind of every project I do.”
In “Dogwood,” Fisher compares herself to a tree that comes into its own each spring. “I am not an oak tree standing full and tall... But in the spring there's no one that can match me,” she sings. Introducing the song during a performance, she talked about “the authentic and beautiful, vulnerable strength of owning all parts of our story.” She called Blooming a continuation of her debut, Brand New Day, which was about starting over. This one is about what grows next.
“Seeds” sits with the uncertainty of that next step. Fisher wonders whether she still wants to sing and how to choose a direction. “What if it dies - what if it seeds,” she asks. In our conversation, she put the work of beginning again in practical terms: some things can start fresh every day, while others need to be planted, watered and given time.
There is room for joy, too. “Build a House” imagines a future with a partner, whether that means settling on a hill or taking to the road. Fisher spoke warmly about her husband, Sean, and the safety she found with him during a difficult period. “One of a Kind” is a smaller love song, grateful for the particular person beside her.
The two songs I return to most are “June” and “Honest.”
“June” is all anticipation. Fisher can almost see the next season coming, and the song has the kind of chorus I find myself singing while cleaning the house. She told me there was “a celebratory element and a groundedness” on this record. Both are easy to hear here.
The song wants June's flowers to last into July and its warmth into August. That wish is simple enough to sing along with, though anyone who has waited for a better stretch of life will recognize it.
“Honest” is less certain. Fisher admits that taking her own advice is difficult and that progress can turn into another step backward. I like that the record makes room for that song alongside “June.” A new beginning does not make every hard day disappear.
Fisher said songwriting has helped her make “something really empowering and beautiful” from some of the hardest things she has lived through. Blooming lets us hear the work in progress. The bright songs are a pleasure, and the uncertain ones make them more believable.
Jason English
