Even if you don’t recognize the name, if you’ve spent time over the past decade listening to local music, chances are you’ve heard Jake Chisenhall. Maybe it was the lush, expansive pop of Fake Flowers or the gleaming sci-fi synth fantasies delivered by Delorean Gray. Or perhaps it was Sunset Honor Unit’s vibrant cowboy pop or the intricate baroque stylings of Floral Portrait. Whatever your entry point, though, one element that has always managed to stand out is his thirst for discovery. Pop music offers an endless array of potential avenues and Chisenhall seems intent on exploring as many as possible.
His latest work, however, hits closer to home than anything he’s done before. Which is maybe why placing it under any one umbrella feels so futile. The music is jazzier, for sure, but it’s punctuated by a kaleidoscope of sounds that touches on everything from bossa nova and Hawaiian pop to Beach Boys-style psychedelia and cosmic country. Chisenhall has always enjoyed injecting an abundance of color and personality into his compositions, and his upcoming EP promises to be one of his most radiant and intimate offerings yet. So much so that he decided to forgo the use of monikers and, for the first time, release the music under his own name.
“I definitely feel that this music comes from a more personal place, and I didn’t want to obscure my direct connection to this body of work,” Chisenhall explains. “Beyond that, I want this new era of music making to have a more evergreen kind of presentation; one that is not pigeonholed to a certain genre or expectations of certain sounds or aesthetic based on a name. So I think avoiding pseudonyms [is important].”
First single “Flowers for Inez” wastes no time making Chisenhall’s musical intentions explicit. With its lively saxophone and syncopated swing, the track saunters through like a tropical breeze cutting through swaying palm trees. But while the atmosphere may feel sunny and relaxed, storm clouds are slowly gathering on the horizon. “I’ve been sleeping in the dirt / To get more down to earth,” Chisenhall sings in the opening lines. The sentiment isn’t exactly one of gloom, but it speaks to the questions of life, death, and self-determination that permeate the song.
As the lead track from his forthcoming EP, “Flowers for Inez” sets a dazzling tone. The song refuses to sit still for long, shifting ably through a flurry of sounds and styles. Much of the record’s music is said to be informed by Chisenhall’s embrace of steel guitars (hence the pun-y title Be Steel, My Heart). Here, it arrives in the form of an airy pedal steel that gently propels the bridge as its guides the track to its ultimate denouement. It’s a subtle yet vital touch, one that highlights Chisenhall’s deft instincts as a songwriter.
Written, directed, and edited by RUBNOGS with production design and animation by B1G REV, the video plays out like an apocalyptic fever dream. In it, a power-wielding pug known as the pugmaster commands a sax-playing Death to stop Chisenhall from performing in order to prevent planetary doom. As the action unfolds, there is a graveyard standoff, a wild bicycle chase sequence, global destruction, and… well, you should probably just watch it for yourself. Suffice it say that before all is said and done, Chisenhall’s transcendence is nullified before he finally enters the divine realm and unveils a time-altering secret. It’s all a bit mad, which, according to RUBNOGS, is a natural result of the process:
“The general structure of the video came to me fully realized in a vision upon hearing the song for the first time, after being proposed by Jake, a down-to-earth performance video set in a graveyard. The rest of it came to me incrementally—the pugmaster, the overarching narrative, the intro—through a violent slump of sobriety that plagued me with self-doubt.”
Watch/listen above.
Be Steel, My Heart is out Fri., Aug. 22 via Marching Banana Records. Check out the tracklist and cover art by Jack Blauvelt below.
Be Steel, My Heart Tracklist
01. Flowers for Inez
02. Beachfront Bossa (feat. Rose Hotel)
03. Boys for the Summer
04. Lovely Hula Girl (feat. Lia Xiomara)
05. One for Mr. Byrd (feat. Paul Stevens)
More Info
Bandcamp: jakechisenhall.bandcamp.com
Instagram: @jakechisenhall