JENNY O. SHARES NEW SINGLE “EVEN IF I TRIED”
NEW TRUTH OUT ON MAMA BIRD RECORDING CO. JUNE 19
LISTEN TO “EVEN IF I TRIED”
Jenny O. has released a new song every two weeks since announcing her third full-length record New Truth and her signing to Mama Bird Recording Co. at the beginning of April.
Now, she shares the album’s fourth single “Even If I Tried”–an upbeat, sunny, psych anthem for ditching the toxic people in your life. Jenny grapples with the push and pull of trying to reason, hoping for a breakthrough, but finally coming to understand the futility. There’s a palpable sense of relief in her voice when she sings, “When I was younger / Wholly by circumstance / Had to be captive to your nonsense / But good news! / No one has to talk to you / The world keeps turning / And you, you fade away.”
Capturing the truly universal feeling of being absolutely done with someone, Jenny says;
“Everyone knows somebody who is always a critic and just won’t listen. Often those with the strongest opinions have the most uninspired lives. People exist this way for years, decades, generations. Fortunately, you can ditch them for supportive friends and a life of curiosity and fun.”
With such breezy overtones on this new track it’s so easy to get captured within Jenny O.’s projections and her delicate atmosphere. With darker lyrics sang with hush-like resonance, Jenny creates full-bodied orchestrations, the melody is at the forefront of her compositions yet her heavenly vocal range has the compelling nature to move the listener. On the whole; Jenny can exude a range of emotions within her creations and her genre-bending ability.
Her last single “What About That Day” is a kaleidoscopic reverie that both treasures and diminishes the few idyllic moments of a flawed relationship. The video was shot on Kodak Super 8 by Sam Gezari. Its ethereal blue-green hues turn a simple day trip to Malibu into a melancholic and cathartic daydream. Jenny describes the song as capturing “an obviously bad partnership that has been riding on the fumes of one or two magical days, tops. The romance is done, but that one day kept us grasping at something that could have been and wasn’t.”
The album was announced alongside the vibrant psychedelic grunge-pop song “God Knows Why”. The track begins with Jenny recounting the terrifying experience of suddenly going deaf in her right ear. “I’m in mono now forever, it was there and now it’s gone”, she sings before proclaiming, “and God knows why.” The refrain can be a moment of acceptance, resignation, or a pleading for some understanding; but in Jenny’s hands, it’s all of those things and none of them. It is the existential thread that leads to a New Truth.
Over the past decade, Jenny O. has sung on recordings by Bonnie “Prince” Billy, Father John Misty, Conor Oberst and Jonathan Wilson. She’s also toured with an even broader range of artists, including FJM, Rodriguez, Leon Russell, and most recently, Faye Webster. She was slated to tour with Vanessa Carlton throughout April and June, but those dates have been postponed. For now–listen to Jenny O.’s new single here, watch her Coop-to-Coop livestream with Vetiver here, and read her statement on the new album below. Pre-order/save the album HERE
Jenny on her forthcoming album New Truth:
Hey,Here’s my new album, it’s called ‘New Truth’.
New Truth is coming to terms with my deaf ear. It’s any new accepted reality. It’s the hilarious way I wore my hair for a week before cutting it away from my face. The songs are as personal as ever–continued misadventures of an introvert in Hollywood. I think it’s relatable – heartache and epiphany – I hope people like it?
I’m singing lower sometimes, I always assumed I’d move back into my lower register, I finally have. Hard to get power that way, but I don’t sound like a little kid. I’ll have to practice singing them a lot, and it will be trickier to pull off live.
I recorded this album with Kevin Ratterman, who is so fast, so patient, willing to try anything, and so much fun. It was important to me to have a good time while making it, and we did.I played all the guitars on this record. I wanted to channel the freedom of the Home and Work EPs, but recorded way better. I took solos! I played bass, except Rachel Goodrich did the funkier two songs because her time is better than mine. The past couple albums were tracked live to tape with a rhythm section, so someone would quickly learn something great and close to my demo but not exactly. I wanted to play bass this time.Kevin set up his nice microphone at my place so I could do all my vocals alone while he was making another record. It’s the best way–much faster and more free to experiment by myself. Building harmonies on a whole album with an engineer can get frustrating, communicating between each take
.Ok I got to go take this little black dog on a walk.
See you soon,
Jenny O.–
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Mama Bird Recording Co. is a Portland, Ore. based record label committed to exceptional songcraft. Founded in 2011, their catalog includes acclaimed releases from Damien Jurado, Haley Heynderickx, Vetiver, Courtney Marie Andrews, Saintseneca, Izaak Opatz, Barna Howard, Matt Dorrien, Myriam Gendron and KERA, among others.
New Truth Tracklist
1. God Knows Why
2. I Don’t Want to Live Alone Anymore
3. Color Love
4. Old Habits
5. What About That Day
6. Not My Guy
7. Even If I Tried
8. Small Talk
9. Psychedelic Love
10. A Different Kind of Life
11. Hard to Say
12. Seek Peace
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