ATL Neo-Soul/Alt-Rock Outfit Lesibu Grand Share Their New Single/Video "Jennifer, My Girl"
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Harnessing the new-wave sensibilities of golden-era Blondie while keeping their feet firmly planted the alternative unpredictability of early Pixies, Atlanta’s Lesibu Grand (pronounced Le-SEE-boo Grand) brings their songwriting chops to the world with the release of their latest single and video “Jennifer, My Girl.”
Comprised of duo Tyler-Simone Molton & John Renaud, this Atlanta-based band prides itself on its melting pot of musical styles & cultures, pivoting from grungy punk rock one minute (early single “Miranda”) to smoky latin blues (“Mi Sueno”), the strength of their vision and restless creative spark propels them through genre after genre without ever losing an ounce of their singular identity, much like their hometown. Their affinity for and identification with Atlanta likely is to blame for gifting a band with the ability to write as infectious a song as “Jennifer, My Girl,” all while revealing heartfelt emotional stakes. To hear the band tell it, it’s these unique juxtapositions that define them: “Our special sauce comes from our relationship, both the obvious differences - age, race, and sex - and the musical ones.” Ultimately, they admit, “we are striving to fill a large gap, and which gives us ample room to explore the human condition.”
“Jennifer, My Girl,” mixed by Dan Dixon and inspired by Molton’s own relationship with her sister, exercises the band’s core alchemy and love of genre-defying music, all of which can be heard working within the first thirty seconds. The track opens with ethereal keyboards cascading through a soundscape that approximates the sweetly free-flowing vibes of the Soulquarians. Never content to be pigeonholed, the band uses this juxtaposition to launch into the track in earnest, creating a buoyant piece of indie-pop bathing in sun-baked organs as Molton’s assertive vocals rise above a chorus of decaying harmonies. Simultaneously, lush guitars reverberate throughout, suggesting alt-rock by-way-of Roy Orbison, while Renaud’s prominent descending bass line punctuates the hook. Despite the song’s poppiness, its core is steeped in empathy as Molton sings to a sister troubled by the modern age “Jennifer, my girl, you are my world/I know you might be afraid/Don’t know what’s coming your way/Why not breath g’on and let tomorrow worry ‘bout tomorrow, tomorrow/And today, today.”
Coming off of their last EP, “The Legend of Miranda”, in 2019, the band began to get the itch to share their music with the world. Luckily, “Jennifer, My Girl,” a song originally penned for the Miranda sessions, in being set apart as a single, gets the spotlight it deserves with a brand new music video.
Shot in collaboration with East Atlanta’s Sailorface, the video is bathed in somber blues, reflecting the strife of their hometown as Molton reassuringly sings into a fractured mirror. The video also serves to expand the scope of the band’s seemingly personal narratives to include comments and questions on national identity, escapism, and the extremely prescient topic of anxiety in America.
All of which couldn’t be more appropriate for a band steeped in Atlanta’s culture, a place that, as the years have progressed,beckons as a new American cultural hub. Given Altanta’s burgeoning time in the limelight, now is the perfect moment for a band like Lesibu Grand, a band whose urgency, melting pot of influences, and songcraft has never felt more timely.
Watch “Jennifer, My Girl” right now, stream it on Spotify and connect with Lesibu Grand on their website and social media.