We are used to hearing stories of artists agonizing long and hard over the songwriting process, evoking hard-to-find muses, digging deep for inspiration, and spending weeks, months, perhaps even years, molding an idea into the desired shape. And then, you have songs like “Just for One Night,” which seemed to drop out of the ether into Jess Yaffa’s creative consciousness in an instant. Well, almost an instant. A dorm room, a guitar, a copy of GarageBand as a sonic notebook, and within 30 minutes, bam, a new song was in the world. Isn’t it great when lightning strikes? Metaphorical lightning, that is, the real thing, can be a lot more problematic.
Sitting at that place where pop infectiousness washes up on more rock and roll shores, it hoves into view on a raft of chugging, robust yet rhythmic guitars and intricate bass lines before kicking things wide open and exploding in a display brooding anthemics and heavenly vocal harmonies, understated grandeur, and unmistakable groove.
But for all its rock and roll grooves and heavy moves, “Just for One Night” manages to do that thing that the likes of Joan Jet’s Blackhearts or The Primitives mastered so expertly—capture pop contagion in rock’s more authentic and energetic form.
So, whether you are a pop picker with an ear for the harder edge or a rocker who appreciates such superb blending of melody and muscle, an indie kid who knows a good tune when they hear one, or just a fan of well-made music, this song is for you.
