New York-based indie alt-folk singer-songwriter Amy Jay’s songs are like plastic knives — pliable, yet cutting. Throughout the 10 songs on her new album, MNEMONICS (PRE-SAVE), Jay proves she knows how to wield them tenaciously.
Titled to represent the mnemonic devices she birthed while “writing my inner monologue” during and outside of therapy sessions, these little mantras help Jay with the work-in-progress of the human condition. Struggling to find her place in the city’s messy music scene (iykyk) over the last few years, she found herself slipping into bad habits and decided to take control of everything she could — herself.
“The songs were subconscious mantras that I synthesized over time while making internal progress. It’s amazing how many times I needed to hear such transformative truths before they stuck. When I realized what I was doing through these sonic notes-to-self, everything clicked.”
Throughout MNEMONICS, Jay explores what makes the vulnerable acceptable, as well as the Joycean concept of what makes the universal specific: How do you love yourself when you don’t feel likable? How do you face pieces of your hidden self courageously? How do you hold space for negative thought patterns or feelings of embarrassment, insecurity, loneliness, or anxiety?
While such themes are often still stigmatized, through song, they become softer and more palatable. Jay assembled a crew of stellar local musicians with national track records to help take her sketches of folk songs into fully formed indie rock panoramas. With long-time producer/engineer Jon Seale (Mason Jar Music) at the helm and guitarist Sam Skinner (Pinegrove, Fenne Lily), keyboardist Andrew Freedman (Michael Mayo, Ryan Beatty), Jay also enlisted bassists Jeremy McDonald and Margaux (Katy Kirby) and drummers Jason Burger (Big Thief) and Jordan Rose (Maggie Rogers) to round out her sound.
For as much as MNEMONICS is a vision board of a record, cut and colored with pages of the past, it’s also rooted in the present. Any attempt at self-improvement or self-actualization takes time, and the culture finally seems ready to embrace such efforts. “This whole album makes me feel uncomfortable, but I’m just gonna go with it. It’s important for me to face the discomfort in order to overcome it,” says Jay. ‘The more I share these sentiments with others, the deeper it seems to resonate. It’s clear these feelings are not just mine. They come with adulthood and they’re universal.”
Today, Glide is offering an exclusive premiere of the standout tune “How The Mind Can Be A Trap,” a commanding work of indie pop that puts Jay’s vocal and lyrical strengths front and center. Coursing with urgency and emotional power, the song finds Jay examining what it means to prove your worth and transcend unnecessary expectations over a steady drumbeat, sharp and dreamy guitars, and a rich bassline. The lyrics serve as a kind of mantra with a touch of optimistic guidance, transforming the tune into a kind of anthem that is as catchy as it is resonant.
Jay describes the inspiration behind the tune:
Remember to stop trying to prove yourself.
Humans are complex beings, and I’ve learned that it’s possible to hold multiple, seemingly opposing truths at the same time. I want deep connections with people, but those relationships can’t be forced. Chasing approval from those who don’t care is a waste of time and energy. The antidote is to stop trying to prove my worth and simply be, trusting my instincts in relationships. I incorporated a breathing exercise into the song, with an instrumental break after the word “breathe,” and silence after the repeat, allowing the listener time to pause and reflect on what their body is feeling.
LISTEN:
