Langkamer - 'Jenny'
Langkamer discuss vulnerability and defensiveness with new single, ‘Jenny’. released on 23rd November via Breakfast Records.
The Bristol band have curated an original sound, falling somewhere in between country and indie rock with group members Dan Anthony on guitar and vocals, Josh Jarman on drums and vocals, Tom Kelly on bass and vocals, and Ed Soles on guitar, organ, percussion, and vocals. They began in 2020 by releasing a few singles. Then, in 2022, they released their album West Country, following EP Red Thread Route and a second album, The Noon And Midnight Manual, featuring collaborations with artists Willie J Healey, Fenne Lily, and Clara Mann. Langkamer have since achieved public recognition through a wide selection of magazines and radio stations supporting them: Amazing Radio, BBC Radio 6 Music, BrooklynVegan, and Gigwise, to name a few. They have also played shows with groups like Mystery Jet and Opus Kinks.
In December, Langkamer will start their tour with two shows in their Bristol hometown, performing at the Exchange on the 1st and Thekla on the 8th. Next up, The Barrel House in Totnes on the 10th and The Victoria in London on the 15th. Their tour will conclude on the 16th at Oxford’s Common Ground.
“Jenny” contains a sweet melancholy that drifts into the song; it’s oddly comforting, too. According to the band, the song is about “the walls that some people put up around themselves to try and stay safe. Some people have this veneer of bravado and distance, but it only serves to make them weaker and more vulnerable. (Blue Moon Press, 2023)” The repeating line, “Jenny, if I let you in now/You’re gonna fucking kill me,” depicts that raw vulnerability. The vocalist knows Jenny is good at attempting to remove his defences, which scares him. Will she know who’s behind the facade? She keeps getting closer, signified by lyrics, “Am I a pilgrim on a path?/I can’t focus on anything.” He’s lost focus because Jenny’s gotten too close to him; she’s beginning to see who’s behind the facade. She’s ‘scattered’ his days. This Jenny character, fictional or not, is an example of what seems to weaken us but only adds strength to our character in the end. This song introduces a bittersweet flavour to one’s musical palate with its mellow yet upbeat guitar riffs and smooth yet gritty vocals. There’s an interesting contrast at play here, and listeners won’t be able to help their singing and foot-tapping; this one’s quite an earworm.
Words by Sydney Kastor
