Jess Kent’s ‘Parking Karma’ Is A Bold Reinvention From A Singer Who Doesn’t Sit Still
'Parking Karma' reveals an artist still finding her place in the world, but in no great rush to do so.
Since crashing onto the music landscape with the wildly successful single ‘Get Down’ in 2015, Jess Kent has flirted with many forms — from the bright and bubbly pop of ‘Girl’ in 2018, to the slinky, funk infected ‘Bass Bumps’.
An artist of constant reinvention, she’s again shifted positions on Parking Karma, her new five track EP, which drops today. Slipping and sliding between styles — from bossa nova to pop folk to PC Music cuts — it reveals an artist still happily finding her place in the world, but in no great rush to do so. After all, the journey is much better than the destination.
“This EP represents an entire new era and sound for me,” Kent tells Music Junkee. “I’m playing all the guitars on my own record for the first time. We were able to make the whole thing in the same studio so everything you hear is consistent down to the tiniest guitar sound and vocal take.
“And we’re also the only two writers on the whole thing, which I love because it feels really personal and we were able to control every little detail exactly how we wanted.”
Kent talks through each track below — so take her hand and jump in.
‘No One Else’
This was the first song Dave Hammer and I wrote together. It’s about realising you’re only with someone because they just stuck around long enough and never left. I’m essentially writing about something kind of sad but setting it to a fun, whimsical backdrop. I feel like it captures just the energy Dave and I have where we’re just having so much fun in the studio and poking fun at my dating disasters.
‘Life Happens’
So this was written when Sydney first went into lockdown. Life is unexpected. We make plans and the universe laughs. I think we’ve all had a bit of a strange year… And I guess I was trying to find light in the little everyday things and remember that while we put so much emphasis on the big milestone moments in life, it’s ok to celebrate the little things as well. I love snacks, I love my Nintendo, and maybe sometimes I get bored and call up my crush and then regret it… who cares, that’s life!
‘Hi, It Me’
Maybe the most personal to me on this EP. I wrote ‘Hi, It me’ for my sister when I wasn’t able to fly home to Adelaide and hadn’t seen her in the longest time. We’re really close, and love it when we’re in the same city but sadly that doesn’t happen too often. So I wrote it like a letter and the ukulele just put me right in the feels.
‘Cloud 9’
The party song! This was so much fun to write. It’s the last song we wrote for the EP. Lime Cordiale are on horns and it just MAKES the song. Whatever’s going on in the outside world, sometimes you have to say fuck it let’s forget everything and jump on the couch and dance to this song for three minutes!
‘Mood Ring’
I had already written ‘Mood Ring’ before I met Dave, and then Dave helped me finish it. The chord progression is kind of weird and the verses are irregular and so we fixed it up and Dave nailed the production. I like that it feels a bit random because the lyrics are about changing moods all the time so I thought that was kind of funny.
Jess Kent’s new EP Parking Karma is out today via Ourness.