With the dark, reverb-drenched chords of her black Fender, Los Angeles solo artist Jen Rim opens her deeply moving, minimally-produced debut self-titled album, out October 20th. The self-reflective songs float between lightness and darkness, finding powerful moments in both sunlight and shadows. Co-written and produced by her friend Boaz Roberts, the seven tunes, brimming with truth and framed by her unique vocals, easily work their way under your skin, causing shivers with their intimacy.
“I’m still slowly learning how to come out of my shell,” Jen says. “Writing these songs has been a gateway to learning how to say things that I wouldn’t be able to say in conversation. It feels less judgmental. The songs were a challenge, to be honest with me, how I feel and how I view a certain situation, and I had to learn to deal with what the truth is.”
Jen struggled against her own nature in taking the center stage. Previously a backing member of Run River North, it felt exciting but scary to transition to being a solo artist with the spotlight fully on her. Facing her own modest, empathetic, and quiet inner nature, she used this project as a way to force herself out of her comfort zone. Together with Boaz Roberts the two made decisions about how to present the material in a way that stayed true to herself while also revealing more than she’d normally be comfortable with.
“I think this album really speaks for myself learning how to be truthful and honest, not to be embarrassed and ashamed about how I expect myself to be,” Jen says. “I’ve had enough of the expectations. I decided not to let all those words that I spoke or that were spoken to me define me. I hope to continue to write songs that progress and move forward.”