To coincide with their new monthly residency on the MDR airwaves, Where Are The Girl Bands? offer us a monthly glimpse into what they’ve been up to and what’s caught their attention over the past 30 days…
This month, Ella reviews Jensyn’s awesome new EP ‘I Wanna Be There’!
Jensyn’s ‘I Wanna Be There’ is an EP to plunge you straight into the orchestral immersion of cinema. Reaching beyond the static of a screen you are engulfed by the sheer feeling of a life you’ve never lived, guided to each new feeling by skilfully arranged instrumentation at every step.
The EP opens up with the sparkling sound of the title track ‘I Wanna Be There’. The instrumentation seems to shimmer, glistening and magical behind the sound of strong unwavering vocals, deep in their richness and the calm sense of feeling that comes through them. Strings soar in alongside euphoric harmonies, layered vocals and grounded lyrics mesh with the mystical sensation of the track making for a song that feels somewhere between being down to earth and up far beyond to somewhere new, somewhere exciting, the ephemeral place where the omniscient voice longs to be.
Next comes ‘The Perfect Escape’, washing in with waves of static reminiscent of the TV cover art. Soon delicate strings drop over the grain of muffled voice and white noise, placing us someplace unreal, like watching lord of the rings on an old television, crackled and enchanting. The strings begin to build, feeling as though they are entwining with one another, continuing to build with the sense of ascent, a rising as the intensity grows while remaining floaty and somewhat fairytale-like. A mellow bassline gives strength to the track, carving a path of melody through the ethereal layering of string and sparkling sounds. As the track comes to its close it leans into something more dissonant, a melancholy edge as the layers strip back to reveal vulnerable strings lamenting into the quiet. There is a sense of finding yourself alone until the accompanying instruments find their way back to you and those lonely strings. Orchestral and uplifting this track pulls you along by those ever moving heartstrings, shifting from elation to alone to elevation all through the skilful placement and entwining of piano and string.
We are led right into ‘Not Quite Right’ a track that is summarised by its name. Anticipation is embedded in the melody of this track. Still beautiful and gently otherworldly in how the piano feels as though it’s shining and hovering atop the rest of the instruments while carrying an undercurrent of something sad, something unsure. Occasional vocals swoop in, adding to the encompassing feeling of the track. Listening to this makes you feel involved, like you’ve fallen through a trap door and landed here, at first enraptured by those swirling sounds but soon let in to the secret that there is perhaps more at play here than you were aware. Whistling and sped up in a sense of urgency the instrumentation takes a change, paired with vocals that seem to be yearning as they drift their way over the skilfully crafted orchestral arrangement.
Once again we slip straight into the next track. ‘Breaking The Static’ has something epic about its feeling, like the breaking of a new dawn or the opening up of events in a long and winding film signified by the introduction of brass and the staccato nature of the instruments that follow in their lead. This is cinematic song writing at its finest, forming picture book like images for you, carrying you through full narratives through the evocative and powerful nature of these arranged instruments and the way they play together to create and form something around you. Immersive and impressive in its structure.
|| WHERE ARE THE GIRLBANDS? ||