A long time ago, in a galaxy not so far away, there was an over saturation of a genre called indie rock. It was bloated, confused, and featured an assortment of bands most of whom were there only because they had facial hair. The people were living in terror of having to suffer through another dull, monotone voiced singer with uninspired lyrics. That is until a worthy band came forth to finally do the genre justice. Behold, The Jensens give us A New Hope.
As we froth in anticipation of their forthcoming debut album, The Jensens give us A New Hope. A refreshing perspective on a breakup whilst making indie rock their own.
Since their formation two years ago the Brissie quintet have become quite adept at honing their craft and taking a firm stance in the realm of indie rock. The Jensens are the kind of band who make the genre work for them, rather than trying to appease a trend. You can most likely attribute this to their tireless touring schedule, the boys running rampant through the Brisbane circuit. That liveliness translates across to all their songs and none more so than A New Hope.
The other big draw for The Jensens are the lyrics. Front man Joe White has an uncanny ability to weave enlightening stories of the everyman whilst remaining quite personal, and furthermore disguise the darker elements with his excitable vocals. His lyrics as usual see him taking issue with himself, in this case wallowing in the wake of a break up and the guilt of hurting someone else. It’s refreshing to hear a break up song that isn’t whiney or patronising. There is remorse expressed, but the bulk of the song focuses on the frustration of having one’s own insecurities cripple a relationship. “I don’t know where my head is/ There is no drugs left to try” he wails, as a plea for help yet also in resignation that perhaps that’s how things always was.
A New Hope isn’t without its silver lining as the chorus hints at the possibility of one day these ill feelings will give way to a new outlook; “Is my heart, made of stone?/ Cos I don’t know which way to go/ I’ll take you with me, we’ll get by“. Whether this hope be for the heartbreaker or heartbroken is left up in the air, the lack of resolution to the story fitting given how relatable it is. It’s a cracker of a song, garage-ness of the guitars that overpower the bass manage to steal the show at the end, cheekily hiding the darker elements of the song the lyrics harbour. Props to the man in the producer’s chair Steve Kempnich of Orphans Orphans, who has managed to pull together these elements into a neat, if not a little frayed, package together and haul it over the finish line.
A New Hope will leave fans frothing for The Jensens’ debut album, which is due for release later this year. Until then you can catch the boys in the flesh in Brisbane, the Gold Coast and Byron Bay later this month.
May 15 – Elsewhere, Gold Coast
May 16 – Alhambra Lounge, Brisbane
May 23 – The Great Northern, Byron Bay
