JESS LOCKE new single 'Destroy Everything' + new album!
Photo credit: Ian Laidlaw
Praise for Jess Locke
“Australia has a flood of amazing rock artists in the wings posted to break through on an international level - a la Courtney Barnett or Gang of Youths. Melbourne artist Jess Locke has pushed her way to the forefront of this talented pack.” -
The Guardian
"Jess Locke has again shown why she's one of the country's most exciting emerging indie rock stars." -
Double J
"…a songwriter capable of balancing introspective reflection with pop-skewed accessibility" -
Rolling Stone
Dot Dash Recordings is thrilled to announce that Jess Locke's forthcoming album Don't Ask Yourself Why will be released on Friday 26 March 2021. The Melbourne-based singer-songwriter is known for penning indie guitar-pop tracks that are at times subtle and full of melancholy, at times delivered with an acerbic tongue, but always steeped heavily in narrative.
Locke shared the first taste of the record earlier this year with ‘Fool’ - a simple and raw track, seeking to partner dirty grunge guitars, a fuzzy lead, gritty vocals and a punchy rhythm section. It received airplay across Australia and beyond with radio additions at Double J, FBi Radio, RTR, & SYN, plus spins on triple j, KEXP & more.
Today, to celebrate the album announcement, Jess Locke shares a contrasting track from the album called 'Destroy Everything'. As Locke explains - "The song 'Destroy Everything' is about destruction as both a positive and negative force. Destruction of the old can be necessary in order to make way for new and better things. It can be strategic, revolutionary, inspired by a vision of what is to come next. But destruction can also be reactionary and misdirected, born out of chaos and fear and not really conducive to real change. The song is a kind of meditation on whether destruction is useful or futile or part of a natural and unavoidable cycle."
Don't Ask Yourself Why was recorded by Jess Locke and her bandmates James Morris and Chris Rawsthorne, along with producer Rob Muinos (Saskwatch, Julia Jacklin).
On Don’t Ask Yourself Why, Locke invites contemplation. "I mean the phrase ironically, because really, I do want you to ask why" explains Locke. "The whole album is about human behaviour, our egos, and our ability or lack-there-of to reflect on why we act and think the way we do."
"My band and I recorded the album with Rob Muinos in a tiny studio in the back of a guitar shop in Collingwood called Clingan Guitar Tone. It was our first time working with Rob and it was the best. Chris had gotten to know Rob from working in the cafe next door and chatting in passing about music. It turned out we had a lot of common influences and it also turned out that we got along extremely well. We made the last album between a pub and a friend's house and I think Rob’s studio had the perfect cosy homely feeling to follow on from that. Rob was very invested in the process and he challenged a lot of my ideas, leading to something better than I could have imagined by myself. Mostly this was in terms of instrumentation, whether to double vocals or not, but we also worked a lot on the structure of some songs, pulling them to bits and putting them back together again and changing the key sometimes. I admit I had a fair amount of anxiety leading up to recording this record that I think stemmed from knowing I had some great songs and wanting the record to be the best it could be."
Don't Ask Yourself Why follows Locke's acclaimed 2017 LP Universe which debuted at #18 on the AIR Independent Label Album Chart, landed triple j Feature Album, was nominated for the Australian Music Prize and was #20 in Rolling Stone’s 50 Best Albums of 2017.
Jess Locke - Don't Ask Yourself Why is available to pre-order / pre-save via http://jesslocke.lnk.to/dontaskyourselfwhy
Jess Locke - Don't Ask Yourself Why
1. Tell Me I’m Okay
2. Don’t Ask Yourself Why
3. Destroy Everything
4. Fool
5. Blowfish
6. Dead And Gone
7. Winner
8. Little Bit Evil
9. Living For The Living
10. Halo
11. Late Bloomer
12. All Things Will Change
Jess Locke - Don't Ask Yourself Why is out Friday 26 March 2021 via Dot Dash Recordings / Remote Control Records.
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