Seattle indie rock veteran Jen Wood of ’90s Kill Rock Stars band Tattle Tale and the standout duet vocalist on The Postal Service‘s “Nothing Better” (a role she reprised on select stops of the band’s 2023 tour) now has a new project, GEMZ, a collaboration with Sebastopol, CA-via-Seattle electronic musician Ted Chen. The duo’s first single is a rickety, alluring bedroom dream pop song called “Younger,” which finds Jen’s soaring voice sounding as great as ever.
The song originated as one of Jen’s voice memos in 2017, and it turned into this final form in 2022 when Ted got involved. “When I listened to Jen’s voice memo of ‘Younger’ for the first time [in 2017], I could practically hear its final production,” he says. “The lyrics and melody inspired such a vivid image and energy in my mind. I wanted to evoke a space that felt like an infinite loop, with sounds and textures appearing in and out from the edges – like, what would happen if you were listening to this song while time traveling.”
The song is about “loving life again, through the eyes and spirit of your younger self, before all the fucked-up shit happened to you,” Jen adds. “When we do the work and heal, it brings us back to the innocence and wisdom of a child. The pure heart of a younger version of yourself never dies.”
Check it out: