We have our first anticipated album of 2023: Siv Jakobsen‘s third record Gardening arrives on January 20 in the new year. If that seems like a long way away, then your concern will be somewhat soothed by the fact that she has made the first half of the album available online. This includes recent singles “Most Of The Time” and “Birthday”, as well as new single “Romain’s Place”, which she introduces by revealing:
“Right before the pandemic hit, I was on a small tour and found myself back in a city I used to call home. I hadn’t been back since I left it (and the relationship I had there) behind a good few years ago. I felt quite shocked with how my body and mind reacted to being back, and realised quickly that I had some emotional unpacking to do. I was staying with my friend Romain at the time, and for me my time in his apartment encapsulates this realisation and the start of me dealing with these ghosts from my past that had laid dormant for a while. I was so overwhelmed at the time that it felt as if I was going crazy. I really did feel haunted, as if I had jumped into a time-machine and was somehow back in the past.”
Despite the spectre of an unwelcome former flame rising in her mind, “Romain’s Place” is an upbeat pop-folk number that finds Jakobsen skipping through her memories, tiptoeing around landmines, jaunty horn animating her progress. Looking out the window from the titular “Romain’s Place” at her old neighbourhood, she sees her ex: “I swear that you look just the same / You haven’t aged at all.” It has an adverse effect on her: “How am I back here again, afraid again?” she asks, referring both to the physical space and mental space to which she has been unwillingly returned. It makes an interesting thematic link with those previous singles and sets up what should be a great album.
Watch the clip for “Romain’s Place” below or find Gardening, Pt 1 on streaming platforms.
Siv Jakobsen’s new album Gardening arrives on January 20, 2023. You can find her on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
