Jen Lush “Lovers Parting, Dawn”
With entrancing, hypnotic guitarscape draws you into the state of longing and loss, “Lovers Parting, Dawn,” like the recurrence of tide that washes you gently, pushing close and pulling away, leaves quite an impressionistic burn in your heart. From the words of poet Kevin Brophy, “Lovers Parting, Dawn” taps in a sacred space between music, poetry and art.
Jen Lush’s warm, floral-poetic voice is unforgettable. It’s between urban and forestry, sultry and desert; coastal and spacious, melancholy and floral; between the image of trees and wild flowers, angelic but close by; dragging your thoughts long and thin to the blurring line of the horizon. She has a voice that leaves a mark in you. You’d want to follow her voice wherever it goes. You’d hear it in your dreams. “Lovers Parting, Dawn” puts you in the state between lingering and drifting away, telling the poignant tale of two lovers parting at dawn.
A song like this is destined to be mournful and saddened, but Lush takes a spin and smoothens off its burning edge with a dash of intimacy and sacredness. Sorrow and nostalgia seems to have dissolved into sensuous, impressionistic soundscapes. With the help of her folk band Cat Dog Bird, Lush re-choreograph the imageries and feelings that bend space and time, drawing the songs, the birds and land and water and all that in between into a palpable non-linear telling through the weaving of sounds and instruments.
“Lovers Parting, Dawn” reminds you of Augus & Julia Stone. Intoxicating and atmospheric, adventurous and tender, but not without a rock edge. From the recurrence of finger-picked guitars, “Lovers Parting, Dawn” blows up in slow burn, fuzzing lo-fi edges with mood-filled distortion, smudging into a mesmerizingly unforgettable sonic panting.
Punk Head: I love how immersive and profound "Lovers Parting, Dawn" is and how poetry and music weaves into such powerful storytelling. Can you talk us through the creative process? What comes first, the poem or the soundscape?
Jen Lush: I've been fascinated by the interplay between contemporary poetry and the musical possibilities for a while now. I first tried writing poetry into song on my 2017 album The Night's Insomnia (which incidentally is also a poem by Kevin Brophy..!) which is a whole album of poem songs, all of them abstract or free verse or at least not with a traditional rhyming structure or form to cling to. I really enjoy the challenge of this, and so I was delighted to revisit writing music around this poem that has such vivid imagery and poignant story held within it.
So, the poem came first, it arrived in my inbox back in 2019 and I read it and re-read it until the rhythmic shape appeared. I noodled around on my guitar for a while and decided that it was in two distinct parts – the first quieter and more reflective finger-picked first half, and then the more driving second half that I imagined to be more strummy and anthemic, major chords and up vibes! I felt like the more poignant feeling in the words might be well juxtaposed with a strong musical response rather than to stay in the more tender place that the song begins in. The lyric form was already decided by the poem but I added in a few repeated words and phrases “tombstones” and the end phrase – small additions that the song felt like it needed, and which the poet Kevin Brophy was happy for me to include.
Once I’d made a basic demo in my kitchen with just my voice and guitar, I sent it through to my band to see what they would make of it. During this process I often ask them to simply “mess it up” and extract any excessive sweetness out of things. It didn’t take long before it was detouring into some more experimental rock soundscapes and atmospherics.
PH: How do you relate to Kevin Brophy's poem?
Lush: I relate strongly to Kevin Brophy’s poem – that universal theme of loss and longing, but with specific lines that catch my breath when I read them…“where each dawn unloves what night has loved.” He writes just so beautifully and manages to find new ways to explore these well-trodden paths.
PH: What has been one of your most favorite memories along the path to making the track?
Lush: A favourite memory of making the track was when the band got a hold of it during rehearsal and turned it from a folky little tune on my guitar into the atmospheric layered thing that it is now. I think the guys were unconvinced to start with, but I’m glad we pushed through the awkward stage! The transformation is always an exciting part of the collaboration and I doubt I can even remember how to play it the original way.
PH: What is coming up next for you?
Lush: What’s coming up next? We have a new song coming out on June 16th – the second single from the album called “Icon – song 1” with a new video to match, from a poem by Maria Zajkowski. It’s quite an atmospheric, bittersweet beauty. And then in August we launch the whole album. We’ll head off on some interstate touring and play some beautiful shows along the way. And I’m heading off on a trip to Japan, Europe, and on the way home we’ll stop in NYC and will even have a few days in LA before driving up to San Francisco! So looking forward to seeing some parts of your beautiful country.
PH: What do you do when you AREN'T working on music?
Lush: When I’m not making music I’m baking cakes and eating them, reading books and running song writing workshops with kids in early childhood places near where I live in Adelaide. I’m also hanging around with my teen kids and our huge hairy dog hiking in the bush land near our place in the hills.
