By Yasmine Shemesh
A peer review featuring contributions from Cancer Bats, The OBGMs, Bif Naked, Comeback Kid, and Fefe Dobson.
Vancouver indie-pop songwriter Jenny Banai has been thinking a lot lately about a song she released back in 2020, dropping two new versions of “Gold” over the past three weeks. Her latest release, accompanied by a video titled “Gold (Solo Gal),” is its most stripped-down version yet, removing the harmonies, drumbeat and bass line of the original to place the focus squarely on Banai’s striking singing voice and poetic lyricism.
Filmed against a wall of guitars and a rustic wooden backdrop at Abbotsford’s Five Acres Flower Farm and plugged into a vintage amplifier, Banai opens the video with a smirk and nod to the camera before coasting through nearly five minutes of one of the most impressive vocal performances you’ll hear all year. Scrunching her eyes shut as her guitar rings out and echoes around the room, Banai delivers a series of jazzy inflections and vocal runs with ease.
Although the lyrics concern Banai’s own personal journey, the repeated mantra longing for “peace and truth” certainly makes it feel like the track was aptly chosen for a re-release. “Every time I ponder this song, I am humbled in a new way,” she says. “I wrote it about my own repentance and longing for wholeness. Maybe I’m releasing it again, because I believe that it is possible for that longing to be fulfilled.”
By Yasmine Shemesh
A peer review featuring contributions from Cancer Bats, The OBGMs, Bif Naked, Comeback Kid, and Fefe Dobson.
By Ben Boddez
One of the past decade’s most prolific songwriters is stepping out from behind the pen with a new name and persona.
By Fraser Hamilton
With her third album, the singer-songwriter captures a sense of dread and makes it her own.