Jordana: “I’m guessing it’ll be a nice, chill indie rock night…” (6/3 at JB’s)

“I’m really excited to play Firefly.  I’ve never played a festival before,” says Jordana Nye (better known as simply Jordana), the bedroom-pop-star-turning-legit-alt-pop-sensation behind “I Guess This Is Life” (which...

“I’m really excited to play Firefly.  I’ve never played a festival before,” says Jordana Nye (better known as simply Jordana), the bedroom-pop-star-turning-legit-alt-pop-sensation behind “I Guess This Is Life” (which has more than a million streams on Spotify).  Just yesterday the singer/songwriter released her debut LP, Face The Wall, courtesy of Grand Jury.  She’s currently on the road supporting Wallows and will be handling opening duties for Remi Wolf this October, but this June she will be playing two weeks of headlining dates in far more intimate settings, including a June 3rd stop at Johnny Brenda’s.  It won’t, however, be Jordana’s first appearance at our favorite Fishtown ballroom; she played there just this past Fall on a completely sold-out tour doing support for TV Girl, which — during a recent phone chat — she tells me was a highlight of her young career: “Just even last year going on tour with TV Girl was really awesome.”  And when I ask what can be expected of her upcoming appearance, she tells me that the venue definitely left an impression on her: “It’s gonna be particular to the vibe of the show.  I’m gonna have a full band, which is a big change, because last time I was just acoustic…  I’m guessing it’ll be a nice, chill indie rock night; those are the vibes I get there.”

2020 saw Jordana release two EPs (Something To Say and …To You) and a number of singles to a plethora of big-time critical praise.  Consequence of Sound said, “Nye continues to veer between folk and pop. Her voice glides over a jungle of synths that range between quick beats and jello-like shakes,” while MTV characterized her sound as, “A ‘90s lo-fi alt-rock throwback absolutely oozing with attitude.”  Face The Wall, however, sees the twenty-one-year-old songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, and producer taking that same sound to a bigger place, with buzzworthy dream pop songs that could easily fill a sunny field at an open-air summer festival, while still resembling standout tracks from 120 Minutes in the early ‘90s.  Although she tells me that the process of creating these songs hasn’t changed very much from the music she made in her bedroom, being in a studio for the first time was very different for her: “Taking two weeks at a time, flying to LA and spending hours in the studio every day, was totally new.”  The themes of the songs, however, deal with the kind of existential and introspective musing that has always made bedroom pop so great, including coming to terms with her bisexuality in a church-centric environment, dedicating herself to veganism, and the forced-solitude of the pandemic.

While Jordana proved to be exceptionally shy when asked about things like her favorite responses to her music and the highlights of her young career, she’s very enthusiastic when it comes to discussing her biggest influences and favorite music.  Of her music videos (“Catch My Drift,” in particular), she tells me, “We wanted to do some pop punk inspired music videos,” and refers to that video specifically as having additional, “‘In My Place’ Coldplay vibes.”  And when asked about some of her favorite albums, she namedrops Department of Eagles’ In Ear Park, Grizzly Bear’s Shields, The Japanese House’s Good at Falling, Death Cab for Cutie’s Plans, Paul Cherry’s Back On the Music!, and The Strokes’ Room on Fire.  She also admits that being on Grand Jury feels like the perfect fit for her: “It’s great, I love them.  They’re the most caring people.  I love being on the label with Samia and Hippo Campus.”

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During the day Izzy Cihak teaches transgression, subversion, and revolution at Temple University. At night he haunts Philthy's best venues to cover worthwhile acts for Philthy Mag. Morrissey is everything to him and, in their own heads, all of his friends see themselves as Zooey Deschanel.

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