Jordan Guerette (Forêt Endormie)
SPB: Who is your favorite 1990s artist?
Jordan: Among the hundreds of artists that I continue to cherish from the 1990s, if I must choose one it would be Jeff Buckley. His sole completed album, Grace, completely changed my life when I was a teenager - I was obsessed with every aspect of the record. I bought a telecaster, studied his vocal technique, and my lifelong love for reverb was born. His one-in-a-generation voice can cause listeners to overlook his inventive and technically accomplished guitar playing, which continues to surprise me when I return to the record. Andy Wallace's production sounds both anchored in time and timeless. Buckley's unfinished second album Sketches for My Sweetheart the Drunk is almost as magical, particularly with the reverb-drenched "Morning Theft", "Vancouver", and "Opened Once." He has been gone for over twenty years now, and many have attempted to emulate his style, but no one to my knowledge has struck the balance between vocal virtuosity and emotionally impactful songwriting as effectively as Jeff Buckley.