Track Review: Jay Tennant // Star Chasing
After spending about a decade fronting various indie-rock bands around the Midlands, singer-songwriter Jay Tennant decided to pursue a solo career in music. Five years ago, Tennant eased that growing feeling of frustration caused by compromising his artistic vision and began recording original material all on his own. Tapping into his enthusiasm for his craft, Tennant has since released two critically acclaimed albums – From The Far Field and Escape Routes – and is scheduled to release a third album next year. The latest addition to his repertoire is ‘Star Chasing’.
“‘Star Chasing’ takes you on a pulsating neon-splashed ride into the shadowy city of Noxville – a futuristic city around which the forthcoming third album is based. Like Bowie in Berlin, the main character races across the city chasing the ghosts of Hollywood heroines like Greta Garbo and Marilyn Monroe, but there’s an androgynous appeal at play too which adds another dimension.” – Jay Tennant on ‘Star Chasing’
Recorded with producer Adam Ellis at Deadline Studios in Leicester, ‘Star Chasing’ is the first single off Tennant’s upcoming concept album. Inspired by noir fiction, classic Hollywood films and the 1940s/1950s Beat poets, ‘Star Chasing’ is a whirlwind journey into the mind of Jay Tennant.
A guitar-driven track, Tennant brings together elements of post-punk and alt-rock creating a Depeche Mode and Talking Heads meets Queens of the Stone Age sound. Lyrically, the track touches on themes of longing, relationships and androgyny; however, it is the combination of guitar and bold vocals that really increases the feelings of desperation. A pounding, passionate and thoughtful track, ‘Star Chasing’ could be Tennant’s more interesting tracks – I can’t wait for the whole album.