The Jenkins Twins (aka Trevor and Trenton Jenkins) have worked for years to craft a sound that seats them squarely on the cutting edge of modern country, pioneering a sort of cosmic Americana that nods to contemporary indie like The War on Drugs and The Killers without turning their nose up to golden-age pioneers like Springsteen and Roy Orbison.
Orbison himself was known to be a dreamer – a sentiment reflected in many of his songs and mentioned dozens of times in his lyrics – and The Jenkins Twins, taking cues, are preparing to release new single, “Is This a Dream,” which takes a swing at spearheading the most dreamish, laidback feel they can muster.
Today Glide is excited to premiere the music video for “Is This a Dream,” a song that immediately entices you to wonder what we can expect from these fellas in the future. Filmed in the style of a movie from the 50s, the song showcases the kind of blood harmonies of classic acts like the Louvin Brothers and the Everly Brothers alongside contemporary revivalists of this classic pop style like The Cactus Blossoms and Lord Huron. What makes this song especially interesting is the fact that, instead of doing a straight throwback, they add a country Americana twang to give the song a more fleshed out vibrancy. Written during a three-month stint at sea when the twins were performing aboard a cruise ship, the song is lovespun, faraway refrain that flirts vaguely with lucidity over gentle slide guitars and temperate chords. The twins capture, in swelling two-part harmony, the inattentive strangeness of being mid-Atlantic for months with warm weather and no land in sight, at times equal parts calming and anxiety-inducing. “I awoke in the dark with a screaming heart,” go the opening lines, setting the stage for a dreamy ballad where everything is not quite right.
Trevor Jenkins describes the inspiration behind the song and its video:
“This past year has felt like a dream, some good times, some bad times, and some confusing times. This song was written before the pandemic and several other wild events throughout 2020. When we wrote the song it was meant to be a desperate love story that takes place in a dream and finding yourself always asking “Is this a dream?”. The idea of questioning our reality of being a dream still seems relevant as ever today.”
WATCH:
