[Cover photo credit to Fernie Renteria]
Austin-based Experimental Folk artist Jenny Parrott (She/They) will be releasing their new album Love Spell this Friday, June 28th, 2024. The new album features vocals in both English and Spanish, and also combines guitar, synth, and omnichord. Thematically, the album explores personal themes from Parrott’s life, from surviving toxic relationships to overcoming trauma, as well as of finding hope and love. Singles from the album “I Hear It All The Time” and “The Other Cheek” are out now.
We’re very pleased to premier the song and video for “When I’m In Need of a Loving God” from the album Love Spell here on Wildfire Music + News.
The song takes on a unique perspective of someone who doesn’t necessarily come from a religious tradition looking for a way to reach out to a higher power in order to find love and strength. An opening audio segment seems to suggest longing and confusion, voices and outcry, before swinging into a Gospel-like tone that’s both frank and disarming. This confessional approach, admitting that there are times when one “can’t be brave”, sets the tone for asking for help. The plea is framed around the idea of possibly being able to “come back in”, away from darker territory. Parrott’s vocal range on the track, employing both very high vocals and lower, more intimate questioning, carry emotion and a sense of confrontation. In the end, the dance-like rhythms of the song and the energy of the lyrics are both engaging and something that people with many different perspectives on faith might relate to. As Parrott concludes in the song, the time when we are “in need” is at the core of the song’s emotional landscape. And need seeks an answer, even in the sacred.
The track’s accompanying video is surreal, takes place in a church, and features mysterious figures in dark cloaks and different masks engaging in rituals. Parrott’s own role, often as a dancer in a white robe engaged in ecstatic interpretive dance, adds a great deal of emotion and possibility to the interpretation of the song. They reflect extremity in their movements, both joyful and intense in expressing need. Among the masked participants, there seems to be an obscure goal for the rituals being carried out, but there is one certainty, they are very focused and determined to get the attention of a higher power. There is a solemnity to their actions, even when frenetic, that reinforces the overarching idea of need that drives the song. Like the song, the video thrives on ambiguity, but continues to dramatize humanity’s search, and humanity’s desire for answers and support when facing overwhelming situations.
Jenny Parrott shares about the track:
I was raised by atheists. When I reached moments of despair in adulthood, I wished I had a God to cry out to.
Across the album Love Spell, Jenny Parrott reflects on a longing for love and connection. The songs explore all forms of love, from platonic, to romantic, to spiritual. The creation of the project was partially funded by a creative grant from the city of Austin, TX, and was recorded in Parrott’s home studio.
On their new album, the acoustic guitar used was also special, belonging to Folk Blues musician and longtime friend Steve James, who passed away in 2023.
After participating in both local Folk-Country duo Loves It! and Bluegrass-Folk-Swing trio Shotgun Party, Jenny Parrott made their solo debut with the album When I Come Down in 2017. The project was followed by the release of The Fire I Saw (2021), with their latest album Pregnancy Choir in 2022.
Jenny Parrott also hosts singing and songwriting workshops in Austin as part of their work to “liberate voices.” They have also hosted monthly “femme james” as a safe place for women and non-binary folks to jam and explore music, and has contributed time to the local non-profit, Communitas.
