Following the glittery shimmer of debut single ‘Ruby‘, Jean Pack returns with ‘Birthday‘ – the second offering from her hotly anticipated debut EP Allora, arriving July 25th.
Where ‘Ruby‘ was gem-cut precision and glamour, ‘Birthday‘ trades sparkle for slow burns. It’s a song written in the aftermath of a party that never quite happened – or at least, not in the way it should have. With a voice half in heartbreak and half in on the joke, Pack sings from the scene of a friendship gone sour, casting a wry eye on rejection, pride, and the rituals we use to mask both.
Recorded at Big Child Studios in Cork with producer Caoilian Sherlock (Jackie Deluxe, The Shaker Hymn, The Tan Jackets), ‘Birthday‘ shows off the quieter shadows of Pack’s world – where bitterness can still be sweet, and a ruined party still deserves a good soundtrack.
“I think everyone has one birthday that changes the weather of their whole year,” Pack says. “Sometimes it’s yours. Sometimes it’s someone else’s. Sometimes you show up with a gift and leave with a grudge.”
A tragicomedy in under four minutes, ‘Birthday‘ continues Pack’s knack for world-building: characters and chaos, drama and detail, all lit by her unmistakable sense of humour and melancholic glamour. Think: a spilled cocktail in slow motion. A balloon drifting toward the ceiling. A voicemail you probably shouldn’t have left – but did, and with perfect harmony.
Allora is shaping up to be one of the year’s most idiosyncratic debuts: messy, magnetic, and unafraid to feel.