Jensen McRae – Massachusetts
LA based songwriter and musician Jensen McRae has shared new single ‘Massachusetts’, and announced her signing to Dead Oceans (Mitski, Phoebe Bridgers, Khruangbin). Also announced is a UK live show at St Pancras Old Church, London, on 7th August, with tickets on sale Friday, 14th June.
“I don’t have main character syndrome,” McRae says, “so much as I have narrator syndrome.” Her songwriting often begins with the smallest snippet, overheard words or phrases that light up a title or a concept. It’s conversational, interactive in how it often sparks from the people and places around her. It also shows up in McRae’s output, which is prolific, generous, and blisteringly unafraid of failure.
“Massachusetts” began as a short social post, one of many she has shared in pretty much realtime. It spawned numerous covers, interpretations, duets and even titles – the song became known as #videogames or #christianbale by growing hordes of fans imagining completed versions – before finally arriving as McRae’s first release on Dead Oceans.
What leaps out first on “Massachusetts” is a soft but weary feeling, the longing and lingering that comes after heartbreak. What follows, though, is effervescent: the lightness of healing, the freedom to remember what was good about being together. Ahead of its release, fans were already singing the song back to McRae across arenas, where she was on tour supporting Noah Kahan. While McRae was hesitant to make something more of the song at first, ultimately, she decided to complete it, setting out to “honor the original impulse” without over-attending to it. She’s quick to acknowledge that tension. “I’m not a perfectionist,” McRae says, “but I don’t want to put something out there that doesn’t feel true to me, or true to what it is.” McRae ultimately finished “Massachusetts” while on tour, deep in that mode of impermanence, before recording the studio version with producer Brad Cook (Waxahatchee, Hurray for the Riff Raff, Bon Iver).
Tour Dates:
25 June – Fiddler’s Green Amphitheatre – Englewood, CO*
26 June – Fiddler’s Green Amphitheatre – Englewood, CO*
29 June – The Gorge – George, WA*
01 July – RV Inn Style Resorts Amphitheatre – Ridgefield, WA*
03 July – Toyota Amphitheatre – Wheatland, CA*
05 July – Greek Theatre – Berkeley, CA*
06 July – Greek Theatre – Berkeley, CA*
09 July – Utah First Credit Union Amphitheatre – West Valley City, UT*
13 July – Alpine Valley Music Theatre – East Troy, WI*
07 Aug – St Pancras Old Church – London, UK
* Supporting Noah Kahan
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