4/17/2020

Jehnny Beth Shares "Innocence;" Debut Solo LP Out June 12

Jehnny Beth
New Song “Innocence” Out NOW
Debut Solo Album To Love Is To Live Gets New Release Date of June 12
(Photo credit: Andreas Neumann)
“Jehnny Beth is like a work of fiction. If you could draw her from scratch, you would not wish to alter a single stroke of her shape as a character. When she plays live, she walks out into the crowd across a sea of outstretched hands (Google it!) and she looks like my Joan of Arc. She talks about her love of moshpits, dangerous sex (in her lyrics, and a new book of short stories) and of emancipation.” – Mary Ann Hobbs, Grazia
Songwriter, singer, and multi-disciplinary artist Jehnny Beth has released a third track -- titled “Innocence” – from her forthcoming album, To Love Is To Live, which has a new release date of June 12. “Innocence” is about the feeling of isolation and distance Jehnny Beth has experienced many times in big cities despite being so close to people all the time. Although recorded well before this, in many ways, it is an eerily prescient song of our now.  
The release of “Innocence” is accompanied by a live video of the song filmed at rehearsal for Jehnny Beth’s incendiary live show, which debuted at the BBC 6 Music Festival last month. The Evening Standard raved about her set in a five star review, saying: “With off-kilter motorik rhythms, freestyle jazz and dark drones, Beth immersed listeners in a world that felt dystopian but ultimately encouraged escapism by ordering a rethink of restrictive gender conventions,” while Music OMH said, “The French force of nature prowls and purrs, asserting her dominance, over a cavalcade of chunky electronic beats...her upcoming debut solo album To Love Is To Live just became even more anticipated.” The video of “Innocence” pulses with the energy of that live show; except, in quarantine, it’s ultimately a candid show between you, the viewer, and Jehnny Beth.  
Additionally, Jehnny Beth’s forthcoming debut solo album, To Love Is To Live, will now be released on June 12th via Caroline Records. The decision to push back the album release came largely from Jehnny Beth’s desire to support local independent record stores by making sure the physical album could come out at the same time. She says: “Record stores are where I found myself as a teenager, digging through albums that ultimately shaped who I have become. To release my first ever solo album in a way that would leave them out felt wrong to me; luckily, we were able to find a date that would allow us to release the physical and digital album at the same time.”  
The album, which was recorded in Los Angeles, London, and Paris, features a number of collaborators, including producers Flood, Atticus Ross, and longtime co-creator Johnny Hostile, and guest turns from The xx’s Romy Madley Croft, actor Cillian Murphy, and IDLES’ Joe Talbot.  

Jehnny Beth spoke with the New York Times in February about the genesis of To Love Is To Live; click HERE to read it.

Lastly, this spring sees the return of Jehnny Beth’s much-loved radio show, “Start Making Sense,” via Apple Music, which saw her interviewing amazing artists such as Geoff Barrow from Portishead, Courtney Barnett, Mike D from The Beastie Boys, Kamasi Washington, the late producer Philippe Zdar, and more. The show will return on April 18, airing every other Saturday at 8 am PST / 11 am EST / 4 pm GMT.  

In addition to releasing To Love Is To Live this June, Jehnny Beth will also be releasing Crimes Against Love Memories (C.A.L.M.), her first book featuring a collection of her erotic short stories along with photography from Johnny Hostile, in July 2020 via White Rabbit. The book is a collaboration with longtime creative partner Johnny Hostile, whose photographs punctuate Jehnny Beth’s stories. C.A.L.M. looks set to establish Jehnny Beth and Johnny Hostile as two of the bravest and most provocative voices in fiction and erotic art today. 

Best known as the charismatic lead singer and co-writer of UK band Savages, who received Mercury Prize nominations for both of their now-classic two albums Silence Yourself (2013) and Adore Life (2016), Jehnny Beth’s voice, lyrical perspective, and incredible live performances have captivated audiences since the early Aughts. But it’s in To Love Is To Live that Jehnny Beth truly steps into - and claims - the spotlight. The album is a sonic tour de force, a dark cinematic meditation on the strange business of being alive. Throughout the record, she explores the deepest reaches of her creative consciousness...wrapped in a whirlwind of sounds. Indeed, in accessing those darkest and least comfortable parts of herself, Jehnny Beth has created a piece of work that is stunningly cathartic, fiercely abrasive, delicately exposed, and rich for discourse.


To Love Is To Live cover art:
JEHNNY BETH

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