A couple of years back there was a film that I watched with Ryan Gosling and Michelle Williams called Blue Valentine. The film was pretty simplistic, about a couple’s downward spiral into conflict and separation.
But the thing that stuck out the most about the film was the sense that there was a lot that we weren’t seeing as audience members. There seemed to be a whole unspoken experience underneath the character’s world, as if they were hiding it from us.
I experienced that same amazing, niggling sensation when I heard Remember Me from JENGYZ.
JENGYZ’s Remember Me feels like a secret. He’s letting us know what happened, but he’s not telling us the full story. That’s the beauty of it.
Fresh off playing a solo set at Sydney’s Bald Faced Stag, 22-year-old JENGYZ has been steadily releasing some hard hitting productions such as his debut EP The Healer’s Call, which includes the harrowing Remember Me.
The track opens with a percussive guitar riff and creamy melody that readies you for something painful ahead. We’re introduced to JENGYZ’s effortless vocals as they sway up and down, complimenting his guitar skills with each elevated vibrato.
In Blue Valentine, there are scenes where the couple reflect on simpler times, like getting caught in the rain, finding shelter in a dry alleyway and then playing some music to pass the time and serenade one another. But then we snap back to the harsh reality that memories don’t shape the present.
JENGYZ chants; “memories fade… but I can’t get away. It’s hard to forget all the pain that you caused me, when I had you in my life”.
You can’t read that line without feeling a sense of curiosity as to what exactly JENGYZ is talking about. Whatever experience he had felt in the past with an ex-loved one, is something extremely personal to him. But he’s allowing us to delve into the affection he experienced, and that’s pretty remarkable.
With a sonic connection to the likes of Nick Murphy and Matt Costa’s guitar work, JENGYZ’s Remember Me will have you reflecting on those memories with that special someone. Whether those memories are painful or not, you’ll always remember them.
You can listen to The Healer’s Call by JENGYZ on Spotify here.
