Carmen Jane returns with flawless new song

Blame can be a helluva thing to wield, but much like anger, it can hurt you more than it hurts the person it is aimed at, but what happens when you should be blaming yourself instead? This inner conflict and its consequences are what Carmen Jane's newest song is about.

Carmen Jane is An outstanding instrumentalist, singer, and songwriter out of Washington State who has named her sound "Dark Pop". The gritty edges of her music cut deep into meaningful and emotional themes but it never ceases to be inviting and catchy, easily pulling you into her voice's embrace where you can have an honest dialogue with yourself about the shared experiences she sings about.

The Journey told by "Blame you" is about the roads of anger and frustration, when we allow ourselves to vent out our pent up stress and point the finger of blame on someone, but ultimately realize that we must own up to our mistakes and point that finger right back at ourselves.

The intense expressiveness of Jane is a key aspect of her songwriting process. She writes because it drives her to dig deeper into her own feelings and really come to terms with herself. This lesson is so intrinsic to her mystique as a musician that she wouldn't really be where she is at right now if not for this relentless introspection "For the longest time I lived in a place of not knowing who I was" she says, I lived there on my own. Fully loved by those around me, but was unaware that I didn’t truly know my own heart or desires. A few years back I started to peel back the layers covering my eyes. Realizing that it was possible to live in my body but still not really know who I was. I don’t live in that place anymore. "

There's no doubt that as Carmen's repertoire grows, we'll get to see some more stellar songwriting, but my own favorite part is the musical intensity she shows. "Blame You" could easily have been a gloomy affair, but instead she chose to inject a heavy dose of rock into the pop foundations to come up with a sound that's assertive and even motivational.

This approach to music-making is surely fraught with challenging vulnerability, but if it suits the author as a means of personal growth even beyond the musical, then we as listeners are all the richer for it. As all this honesty in favor of exploring the shared anxious crevices of our minds only results in work that is easier to intimate with, to take in, and assume as our own as we see those anxieties so deftly voiced and put to such an imposing and infectious sound.

MEET THE AUTHOR

Samuel Aponte is Venezuelan-born raised and based. 

I joined Rival Magazine after a few years of doing PR work for independent musicians of all stripes; understanding their struggles to be heard in a sea of constant  ADHD noise and paywalled access to platforms, I now bring a willingness to always appreciate and encourage the effort and creativity that artists put into their work . Can also find some of my writings on LADYGUNN and We Found New Music.