Photo: Ollo Weguelin
The biggest challenge to face when listening to ‘Jenny‘ by Spang Sisters? Deciding whether to let yourself flow to the music, or let the music flow through you.
The hit single from the UK duo’s eponymous debut album, ‘Jenny’ oozes a sense of laid-back musical liberation. Written in the lyrical vein of Lou Reed and similar classic blues crooners, the track is as fresh and free in sound as it is in impact. Dipping into the soundscape of 70s Motown and 80s swampy blues rock, the essence of these musical flavours define the Spang Sisters as an unmistakeably groovy force.
As if they’ve experienced the entire musical exploration that the 70s rock era brought themselves, Spang Sisters radiate an unfathomably hazy and sultry sound that draws you in so quick, you wish the single lasted longer. Aligning with classic favourites The Velvet Underground and David Bowie, the single – and upcoming album ‘Bathtime Sounds‘ – pay homage to that vinyl-driven style we know and love.
Telling the cautionary tale of social ascent, the track is brushed with the band’s irresistibly cheeky but charming flair, that sits above rich instrumentation and sensual backing vocals. Rachid from the band explains, “We were listening to a lot of Velvet Underground at the time and this song came about after having listened to the song “Stephanie Says”. I have always been a fan of Lou Reed’s cynicism and didacticism towards the dilettantes he no doubt met through The Factory and Max’s Kansas City. This is a nod to that mode of lyricism”.
Raising the temperature to a heavy heat during the eager guitar solo passage, the introduction of light brass embellishment rounds out the track to create a perfect mellow conclusion, only leaving you hungry for more.