AmericaImage credit: Matty Smith
After releasing his debut album Little Errands back in 2021, 25-year-old all around creative Jake Elijah is back bigger and more experimental than ever on new single and video combo Hemmy, out May 7 but premiering on Pilerats today.
Pairing warbly guitar strums with a groovy bass line and understated old school drum machines, Hemmy packs little flourishes of keys before the commanding guitar lead enters the mix alongside Elijah’s soaring vocals… momentarily, as the experimental composition only sees Jake singing in the opening phrases, before switching back to instrumental mode.
Sounding a bit like if Mac Demarco maybe took one too many sips of purple drank, through Hemmy, Elijah’s formative influences of weird pop icons like Sparks, Kate Bush and MGMT shine through, with Jake arguably upping the experimentation compared to them.
The primary influence for Hemmy, though, was Todd Rundgren's A Wizard A True Star for the arrangement, with Elijah explaining “The unconventional chord progression and melody made for a really fun and experimental studio session. Lots of synth textures sprinkled throughout. I enjoy the dueling guitar and synth.”
Meanwhile, the fun and confusing DIY music video has a lot going on with a dual storyline of sorts that stars Elijah as both a silverman exploring the NYC streets at night, as well as a daytime baseball star - because of course.
Jake Elijah's new single Hemmy is out May 7 via Earth Libraries
