‘Weary’, the title track of John Jenkins’ new EP, aptly reflects how I’ve felt today. Which is why the Liverpool singer-songwriter was most welcome into my home. In the space of that one song, I had gone from feeling down and drained to suitably uplifted. The way it builds from acoustic guitar to keyboard and drums to Gospel-soaked harmonies. It is anything but what its name suggests.
I soon found myself smiling and being carried along by the whimsical folk-pop of second track ‘Do You Ever Think of Me?’ The line “don’t let me fade away / like a letter caught in the sun” is a pleasing piece of poetry, complimented by sunset-perfect trumpets at the song’s end. Their inclusion seams nicely with their entrance into ‘Bury Myself in the Sand’, a musical arrangement that in one sense defies the lyrical content, yet in another fits well with its melancholic musing. This is jazz as a reflection of the dissonance between desire and reality – “I wish I could bury myself in the sand”, says Jenkins, but he can’t.
By the time I reach ‘I Don’t Want to be That Guy Anymore’, the heaviness of the day has been washed away and replaced by the defiant tones of this song. With more bass, guitars and percussion than we’ve perhaps become accustomed to on a John Jenkins record, the effect feels deliberate and therefore deeply personal. His whimsical vocal does remain to prevent it jarring from the tracks either side though. This includes the final song on the EP, ‘Dressing Up the Truth’. Its cheery nostalgia is a throwback to the essence of ‘Tuebrook’, his last album. Here, it serves as a question as much as a throwback – “maybe I’m just dressing up the truth?”, he thinks, which is something to ponder, perhaps. On this occasion, if it offers a bit of escapism in the face of weariness then one need not give it too much thought. I’m just going to enjoy the moment.
‘Weary’ is released on September 13th 2024. You can find out more about John Jenkins and his music here.
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