Cassandra Jenkins & Wednesday share new songs for Secretly Canadian's 25th Anniversary
Cassandra Jenkins and Wednesday have released new songs as part of Secretly Canadian’s ongoing 25th anniversary celebration. You can listen to both below.
For “Pygmalion,” Cassandra recorded at the famed Abbey Road studios in London, backed by members of Glaswegian band Lylo. It’s a real slow-burn of a song, with Cassandra delivering a particularly smoky vocal. “The lyrics in this song revisit the story of Pygmalion, the Greek mythological figure who, scornful towards women, falls in love with an ivory statue of his own making,” says Cassandra. “When the sculpture comes to life, they live happily ever after. Through today’s lens, we might view this as a tale of an incel who falls for his ivory sex doll, and one that lacks any trace of the female voice. I wanted to give the statue a chance to speak, and to address Pygmalion directly as he begins to carve her likeness according to his vision.”
Cassandra continues, “The result is short & bittersweet, expressing part menace, sarcasm, and exhaustion, and part lucidity. I wrote it in a moment when I was frustrated by a relationship, and recorded it while I was on tour (at Abbey Road Studios). I was thinking about how easy it is to box each other into molds, and to impose our solipsistic ideals upon other people, only to be disappointed when they exhibit their true character. In that equation, everyone misses out, and there’s so much more to be gained from burning down ancient ideals. This song aims to strike the match.”
You can pick up Cassandra Jenkins’ excellent 2021 album An Overview of Phenomenal Nature on vinyl in the BV shop.
Wednesday’s Karly Hartzman admits their song, “Feast of Snakes,” was inspired by a classic Secretly Canadian artist. “I 100% ripped off the chords for this song from Jason Molina’s ‘Almost Was Good Enough.’ When I wrote it I had just finished reading his biography ‘Riding With the Ghost’ which has a ton of information about Molina’s music and by extension the beginnings of Secretly. I thought channeling his music for our contribution to SC25 would be fitting!”
Proceeds from these songs go towards Secretly Canadian’s $250,000 fundraising goal for the Bloomington-based, gender-inclusive emergency housing solution, New Hope For Families.
