Tag: Jenny Stevens and the Empty Mirrors Unfinished Conversations

Video by William Ruben Helms

New Video: The Empty Mirrors Team Up with Anastasia Kareva on Sultry and Brooding “Shameless Tango”

Finnish JOVM mainstays The Empty Mirrors publicly cite The Cure, The Smiths, PJ Harvey, Pixies and Suzanne Vega as major influences on their sound and approach — but generally speaking, the Finnish outfit specializes in a seemingly 4AD Records/Cocteau Twins-inspired sound. 

If you’ve been frequenting this site over the past year or so, you might recall that the Finnish outfit had a collaborated with Welsh-born, Finnish-based singer/songwriter and musician Jenny Stevens, a.k.a. The Ukelele Girl over the course of a handful of singles including: 

Earlier this week, I wrote about “Who Knows Where The Time Goes,” a slow-burning A Storm in Heaven-meets-4AD Records like song centered around shimmering and swirling guitars, atmospheric synths and a propulsive rhythm section. Adding to the dreamy feel of the entire affair, Glasgow-based, Hungarian-British singer/songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Robert Severin contributes his gentle and vulnerable crooned delivery. The end result is a wistful and aching meditation on time, aging and mortality that feels like a gentle lullaby. 

The Finnish act’s latest single “Shameless Tango” is a brooding and atmospheric mix of glistening and swirling Cocteau Twins and A Storm in Heaven-like textures paired with thunderous drumming, a sinuous bass line and Anastasia Kareva‘s yearning, pop belter-like vocal. The end result is a song that feels and sounds as though it draws from trip hop and goth simultaneously — while being accessible.

The accompanying video is fittingly campy and horror themed and features footage shot in a graveyard, the hand of a zombie pushing out of the wet soil, couples tango dancing, soldiers marching and more. It’s a unsettling and apocalyptic fever dream.

Single Review by William Ruben Helms

New Audio: The Empty Mirrors Team Up with Robert Severin on a Shoegazey Meditation on Time

Finnish JOVM mainstays The Empty Mirrors publicly cite The Cure, The Smiths, PJ Harvey, Pixies and Suzanne Vega as major influences on their sound and approach — but generally speaking, the Finnish outfit specializes in a seemingly 4AD Records/Cocteau Twins-inspired sound.

If you’ve been frequenting this site over the past year or so, you might recall that the Finnish outfit had a collaborated with Welsh-born, Finnish-based singer/songwriter and musician Jenny Stevens, a.k.a. The Ukelele Girl over the course of a handful of singles including:

  • “Beneath Smooth Waters,” a slow-burning , Dummy era Portishead like song featuring glistening, reverb-drenched synth arpeggios and sinuous bass lines paired with Stevens’ plaintive vocals. 

  • “Unfinished Conversations,” a track that saw the rest lessly experimental Finnish outfit pushing their sound in a new direction — towards the dance floor, while retaining their unerring knack for sharp hooks.

Their latest single “Who Knows Where The Time Goes” is a slow-burning A Storm in Heaven-meets-4AD Records like song centered around shimmering and swirling guitars, atmospheric synths and a propulsive rhythm section. Adding to the dreamy feel of the entire affair, Glasgow-based, Hungarian-British singer/songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Robert Severin contributes his gentle and vulnerable crooned delivery. The end result is a wistful and aching meditation on time, aging and mortality that feels like a gentle lullaby.

Video by William Ruben Helms

New Video: Jenny Stevens and the Empty Mirrors Shares a Glistening, Club Banger

Welsh-born, Finnish-based singer/songwriter and musician Jenny Stevens, a.k.a. The Ukelele Girl is the creative mastermind behind the songwriting project Jenny Stevens and The Empty Mirrors, which sees Stevens pairing dark-alt pop with quirky visuals. 

Last year, Stevens released the The Distance Between Us EP, an effort that featured “The River Rolls On,” an atmospheric track that seemed indebted to the likes of Siouxsie and the Banshees, The Cure and Cocteau Twins. 

This year, Stevens released two more singles:

Stevens’ latest single “Unfinished Conversations” is a 90s house inspired banger featuring skittering beats, glistening synth arpeggios, brief bursts of guitar, and sinuous bass lines paired with Steven’s plaintive and ethereal vocals. While revealing an act that’s restlessly experimenting and pushing their sound in new directions, including towards the dance floor, the song also reveals an artist with an innate ability to craft an infectious hook.

The accompanying video is set in the relatively near future, where we see beautiful people dancing and vamping to the song — but we also see people tuning out in virtual reality. And throughout, there’s a sense that there are things left unsaid.