Friday, May 25, 2018

Photocomfort - "Gillian Jacobs' Understudy"

Photo via Facebook
The latest single from Photocomfort has one of the more unique backstories I've heard in a while. I'm going to do the lazy journalist/cut and paste thing, but I really love the way Justine Bowe tells it on Facebook:

"Dear #GillianJacobs, I wrote you a song, and it's out today.
People used to stop me and tell me that I looked like you. I didn't see it until you dyed your hair a bit darker and took on roles where you began to struggle.
I had just left a good gig where I was touring around the country with people I loved. I made an entire record that I never released. I went through a breakup, lost my writing partner, and turned down a couple of offers to grow my band thinking I could do it all on my own. Nothing was working (I wasn't either). I was starting to suspect that I had already failed, my musical career was done, and who am I but my music? Who am I without the success of my music? Who am I without people who listen to my music?

It turns out, I'm a famous-ish actor! We're doing fine out there in Hollywood! I'd see us on screen, getting wasted, fighting hard for what we wanted, floundering publicly, feeling hopeful. In some freak parallel universe, we were 'making it'.
Gillian, I always wanted to try acting if you ever need an understudy. 'Til then, I have my own fucking life to deal with. Love ya!"

As for the song itself, it reminds me a ton of the time in the late 90's when Tori Amos was flirting with electronic elements. It's fully on the pop side of things, but in this slightly off kilter way that even those of us that normally dislike pop can get into. It's fun and pretty, but with a tiny bit of darkness and an edge to it.

You can listen to "Gillian Jacobs' Understudy" over at The Wild Honey Pie. Understudy, the new EP from Photocomfort, will be out on June 1. For more on Photocomfort, check out her website.

1 comment: