REVIEW It’s been a while since the world has received new music from Rhode Island-based alternative pop artist Jenn Vix, so it should delight many that she will not leave 2021 without offering something to her fans. Her new single ‘PTSD’ offers a glimpse into her personal experience with the diagnosis and life with this disorder. She herself is a survivor. With this song as an indication, it is inspiring how she can take a negative experience (or set of experiences) and transform them into something so good. A timely release on a theme that can really be appreciated in this day and age, ultimately this song may even help a listener who can identify with the feeling she has expressed. It’s a hell of a good listen in any case.
While her professional career reads like something of a ‘Who’s Who in Music’, her life story underlines her notable perseverance, drive and commitment to music. Referring to a 2018 interview with We Are Cult, Vix states, “Four years ago, I almost died of a misdiagnosed illness… The stress and post-traumatic anxiety I experienced after going through it, caused me to not be able to even listen to music for about a year after I returned home from emergency surgery… I’m also a domestic violence survivor, and a couple of tracks on ‘Unlocked’ are about how I never let go of hope, and love, even though someone tried to beat those feelings out of me.”
On this single, Vix worked with Grammy-nominated mastering engineer Chris Gehringer (Dua Lipa, Lizzo, Lady Gaga, Twenty One Pilots, St. Vincent). Generously on topic with the title itself, Vix has announced that proceeds from this single will be donated to NAMI (National Alliance on Mental Illness), who provide critical mental health resources and support to millions of people across the USA.
Jenn Vix provides commentary on this new offering:
“This new track was primarily written about my experience of being diagnosed with PTSD (Post Traumatic Stress Disorder) and what it is like to live with it. I’ve survived SA, homelessness, DV, attempted homicide, and two near fatal illnesses. Though I’ve written about what I’ve gone through, this song is for everyone who has experienced or is experiencing trauma. I deeply empathize with anyone dealing with it. During this pandemic, so many people have experienced intense heartbreak, loss, and other deeply traumatic experiences. I lost two of my friends, and I know many who have lost loved ones, friends, family members, co-workers, and people they saw in their daily lives; before the lockdowns happened.”
While best known for her unique brand of alternative pop / rock, comparable to such artists as Liz Phair, Florence + The Machine and Shirley Manson, on this single Vix sits on the cusp of not two but multiple genres. Here, she cannot be pigeonholed. Here, Vix has branched out into new territory with a nod to R&B and trap beats programmed by French beat producer Mister Lazy.
Over the years, Jenn Vix has collaborated with Reeves Gabrels (The Cure, David Bowie, Tin Machine), John Ashton (Psychedelic Furs), Andy Anderson (The Cure, Iggy Pop, Hawkwind), Danny Chavis (The Veldt), Dirk Ivens(Absolute Body Control, The Klinik and Dive), as well as Marco Pirroni (Adam Ant, Rema Rema, The Models, Sinead O’Connor) and Rodney Anonymous (The Dead Milkmen).
Hailing from Providence, RI, Vix also got to know a tougher New York City in her teens, crossing paths with the likes of Iggy Pop, who lived in her mother’s building. While her first experience as a vocalist came with 1980s one-off band Disco Donut (with Adam Horovitz of The Beastie Boys and singer-songwriter Nicole Willis), a decade would pass before Vix broke out on the national scene. Her self-released album received a glowing 3.5-star review in Rolling Stone, who wrote, “Vix sounds perpetually enraptured. And the Rhode Island multi-instrumentalist has reason to be. Her music–clear, simple melodies awash in echo–is all dreaminess and shuddering, and from inside its swirl, her voice wafts up”.
As an indication of her ever-evolving approach to her craft, in recent years, Vix has been performing both as a solo artist and also as a drummer (on an electronic drum kit) and vocalist, in Boston-based post-punk / electronic rock duo Feeney Vix.
Beyond the issue of PTSD, Vix notes that there is help for people undergoing various forms of psychological distress, noting, “I’ve placed links to resources for help; both national and international, under the official music video. I’ve received a lot of help over the years from NAMI, so I’ve also placed a link to their official donation site. I donate to them and I encourage anyone in the US who can donate to them, please help. It is tax deductible, and every donation counts. Thank you.”
‘PTSD’ will be released on November 5 and will be made available online everywhere, includingSpotify and Apple Music. It can be pre-ordered / pre-saved at https://music.jennvix.band/ptsd
CREDITS
Written and recorded by Jenn Vix in Newport, RI
Guitar by Feeney
Exclusive beat and production by Mister Lazy of Beats4Rap.com in France
Mastered by Chris Gehringer
Catalogue number UMBV1L1
Jenn Vix on the net
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