We’ve updated our Terms of Use to reflect our new entity name and address. You can review the changes here.
We’ve updated our Terms of Use. You can review the changes here.

Jen Cloher

by Jen Cloher

/
  • Streaming + Download

    Includes unlimited streaming via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more.
    Purchasable with gift card

      $10 AUD  or more

     

  • Record/Vinyl + Digital Album

    The 'Jen Cloher' 12" Vinyl is pressed on heavy 180gm solid pale blue vinyl. It comes in a card sleeve with a lyric insert and digital download of the album.

    Includes unlimited streaming of Jen Cloher via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more.
    ships out within 7 days
    Purchasable with gift card

      $40 AUD or more 

     

  • Compact Disc (CD) + Digital Album

    'Jen Cloher' on CD comes in a beautiful gatefold card digipack with an eight page insert.

    Includes unlimited streaming of Jen Cloher via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more.
    ships out within 7 days
    Purchasable with gift card

      $20 AUD or more 

     

1.
You’d been gone so long you could have been dead Piles of books you bought but never read Paint a still life of your side of the bed Patti Smith poems, a hair tie and some vitamins There’s only so much you can say in a text Reading between the lines is hazardous A slow reply can really mess with your head I was Feelin’ Kinda Free Now I’m Desperate. Oh god I forgot myself Oh god I forgot my health I seen it coming but it’s too late now Oh god, oh god, I forgot myself I was shooting for a different score My head, my heart, the way, the open door Like a fly up against the window The open sky, so close, I’ll never know See my reflection staring back in the glass I’m getting older I know, that things don’t last For all the time I spend worrying Most things they never happen. Oh god I forgot myself Oh god I forgot my health I seen it coming but it’s too late now Oh god, oh god, I forgot myself You’re riding round the world You’re doing this and you’re signing that The facts are that you’re there and I’m here When you’re gone too long I become an idea I’m driving in my car Your song comes on the radio And I remember what I always forget Loneliness.
2.
Paralysed I’m paralysed In paradise I’m paralysed Worrying won’t change a thing In paradise My first world guilt Makes me feel Like I really care But faith without works is dead Devoted to the show Not the deeds of compassion Full of good intentions but never any action Oh goddamn We drained the dam Now the Kangaroos Are drinking from the pool While I float on by The trees can’t decide Whether to lose their leaves Unseasonably A little summer snow And no-one knows Which way the wind will blow If you think it’s the end it’s only the beginning Can you spare a minute for #activism? Paralysed I’m paralysed In paradise While the Hansonites Take a plebiscite To decide If I can have a wife I pay my fines Taxes on time But the feral right Get to decide If I can have a wife If I can have a wife? Born into hate Brought up to despise Frightened of a world That’s left them behind.
3.
Noisy Minors Bully the suburbs Out beyond the haze Seaside holiday houses Lay quiet as a grave Tombs of dreams past Wealth gone to waste The Australian dream is fading Stolen anyway I’m never gonna lose my head To a setting sun I’m never gonna dream of things That just can’t be done Pavement’s too hot to walk on barefoot So you hop and skip Prawns in wheelie bins marinate A cocktail of stink Bat swaying on The power line Wings open in surrender This is how you die I’m never gonna lose my head To a setting sun I’m never gonna dream of things That just can’t be done I’m never gonna say, never gonna do, never gonna be Anything more than what’s expected of me.
4.
I start missing you Days before you leave I guess it’s a kind of sensory memory Deep below the conscious Mind you I can be on my own I’m an only child I like my company Potter ‘round Make another pot of Tea for two is when You come home We sit and eat breakfast Eggs with soldier toast Buttered well So you get the edges Of the things you never say Distance has a funny way Of slowly making you someone That I don’t know People ask me why I don’t go on the road with you I tell them “Here’s a day in the life of a touring muso” Early morning flight Press all day City through a window Air-conditioned room With a view Late night Early morning Light creeps through the blinds And the cat Hungry for her breakfast Routine keeps me sane I’m not made For the lonesome highway I guess I’m never gonna be The Joy to your Slim Dusty But you know I’m always here When you get home.
5.
Shoegazers 03:46
Indie rock is full of privileged white kids I know because I’m one of them Who else has the luxury to gaze backwards? I went out on the road with my girlfriend I watched her have the career most people dream It doesn’t sound so bad Buffet breakfast on the terrace Young men wearing glasses and sweaters But it’s exhausting up here on the surface. I’ve spent a lot of time wondering what I should be doing Success is a slippery eel that keeps on moving It has nothing to do with making music It has nothing to do with making music Most critics are pussies who want to look cool Those who can, they do Those who can’t review What’s hot today is forgotten tomorrow All that you have is your joy and your sorrow. I don’t mean to sound bitter when I say Life is the great leveller No-one can escape Failure and sadness Breaks us open and connects us If not in this life Then, the next one.
6.
Strong Woman 02:58
When I was young I wanted to be Jon It wasn’t hard Short hair, no curves to speak of I could do things I couldn’t do as Jen Ride bikes with boys Kiss girls and make some noise. I grew to be A Young Lady Catholic Girls School Will try to do that to you Never fit in To love was to live in sin So I stood out I was born to let it out. This world it wasn’t made for women You know even before you’re bleeding I’m sorry, can’t you hear me speaking? How is it now, now that I’m screaming? I know I am a Strong Woman Never questioned My strength it was passed on Proud my Mother wanted respect more than love And her mother taught her that she could want for more. I know I am a Strong Woman Never questioned My strength it was passed on Proud my Mother wanted respect more than love Kia kaha Be proud, stay strong Go on.
7.
I’m not here to debate I just want to get my own way News is cheap real estate If you’ve got nothing to say I don’t wanna (I don’t think so) I don’t wanna (I don’t think so) Well it’s kinda biblical (It appears Satan is real) Asked God for a miracle (Threw down his fallen angel) Dirty deeds done dirt cheap (Sometimes Gods work ain’t clean) Where will you spend eternity? (Dirty deeds done dirt cheap) Deep down Louisiana Tell you that Black Lives Matter As we pray for our unborn daughters Andrew Sloane World Prayer Centre You can’t say Merry Christmas (Rain my bluebirds down on you) It’s all Happy Holidays correctness (Rain my bluebirds down on you) Welfare cheques on my tax dollar (Rain my bluebirds down on you) Bad Hombres and Wall Street Robbers (Rain my bluebirds down on you) If I don’t like what you say Rain my bluebirds down on you If I don’t like what you do Rain my bluebirds down on you If I don’t like what you say Rain my bluebirds down on you If I don’t like what you do Rain my bluebirds down on you
8.
You come home broken Bruised on the inside Nothing left Dead-eyed, dazed and confused You’re working for the man To play with Uncle Sam Cost ten grand for your band That’s a hand ya gonna lose. Well the Saints were stranded Lindy, Grant and Robert Had to Go Between Just to be heard Australians in London Making do with nothing Oh yeah the Wide Open Road! What I got and what I don’t gotta Our Giant’s have to bend Just to make the ends meet Let’s hope Uncle Archie Can pay the rent Tyranny of distance Proving our existence Buried country culture’s shallow grave On this fatal shore Forgotten and ignored Crabs in a bucket Maggots in a sore We’re all from down under Where no-one hears our thunder Signing shitty deals just to make it work What I got and what I don’t gotta do.
9.
Loose Magic 05:44
Standing side of stage Watching people Watch the Dirty Three In one woman’s face I can see it’s the air she needs She needs to breathe These songs were the only thing That got her through seventeen When life felt like a high-pitched scream. The boy from Clifton Hill Who escaped to New York Conjures up a rhythm no-one could dream of Like some kind of sorcerer He turns the drums Into feeling Loose magic slowly tumbles out Feels like your dreaming Everything slows right down. Nothing in the world No, nothing could ever feel Like the first time Sue’s Last Ride Messed you up for real. Everything’s fine Everything’s fucked No-one knows I’m gonna lay down Look around Sea above and sky below. The boy from Ballarat Who could play violin Arcs back kicking Like some wild thing Horse hair fraying And then the release Into feeling Precious tender melody Can’t help but weeping Everything slows right down. Nothing in the world No, nothing could ever feel Like the first time Sue’s Last Ride Messed you up for real The boy from Black Rock Playing Ocean Songs Plucked and droning Anchor in the storm Each note spaced out Like stars in the sky Where it’s needed Placed there with a painters eye Easy as breathing Everything slows right down.
10.
I’m lost Planning or remembering I don’t remember And plans are disappointments Waiting in the Wings Life is what happens When you’re making them You’re home I can hear your typewriter Click-clacking You know One becomes a writer by writing And so you devote morning to what you know Aim high Let go We’ll never know What we’re doing here or when we’re gonna die Time is only wasted trying to know why To be kind Truly kind Is radical Aim high Let go We’ll never know How close we are To what we love There’s no meaning but the meaning you create And no end to all the things that you can make To be kind Truly kind Is radical Watch you laughing while you sleep Things look funny in your dreams I’ll never know Where you go Or what you think And at night I curl into The soft animal of you And fall asleep Just to dream Another day.
11.
Dark Art 02:15
Loving you is like a dark art Loving you is like a dark art Somewhere between head and heart We’re together miles apart Maybe that’s why love is blind Maybe that’s why love is blind If we knew what we would find The other side to love’s joy is shadow Jealousy, fear, loss, anger, sorrow If you never stay to sit in love’s shadow A part of you will always be hollow Loving you is like a bright star Loving you is like a bright star You seem closer than you are Loving you is like a bright star.

about

“It’s self-titled.” The three-word answer is all that Jen Cloher requires to describe her new album, a letter in triplicate addressed to themes of Music, Australia and Love. It’s the most honest album she’s ever written. Jen likes best to tell the truth.

'Jen Cloher' is the culmination of a period of artistic and personal growth in which the artist took her rightful place as the punk-rock figurehead of Melbourne’s famous DIY music scene. The NIDA graduate is now an outspoken advocate for artist rights, a label boss and band-leader, she also happens to be the partner of an internationally acclaimed songwriter. Cloher’s politics and her fascinating life-story are enough justification to take notice here, but it’s the music that will have you returning to this album again and again.

Cloher says: “It’s a classic rock album, recorded live in one room with minimal overdubs… I’m not too good at going into descriptive language around my own music but I suppose it is intimate without ever feeling too precious.”

The bulk of Cloher’s album was recorded in October 2016 by Greg Walker amidst the rolling greenery of rural Australia. The band that first played together on Cloher’s acclaimed third album, the Australian Music Prize nominated In Blood Memory, are now bold and assured. These are songs of distance and songs of driving, they are split here and there by the melodic intricacy of guitarist Courtney Barnett while drummer Jen Sholakis and bassist Bones Sloane add weight and space, playing only what is needed, leaving room for the songs to breathe, transform and soar.

The record was completed in March 2017 with Tom Schick at Jeff Tweedy’s famous ‘Loft’ Studios in the depths of Chicago’s winter.

credits

released August 11, 2017

Recorded by Greg Walker at The Bakery, Jumbunna, Victoria.
Mixed by Tom Schick at The Loft, Chicago.
Produced by Greg Walker and Jen Cloher.
Mastered by David Walker at Stepford Audio, Collingwood.
All songs by Jen Cloher 2017.
Guitar and Vocals – Jen Cloher
Guitar and Vocals – Courtney Barnett
Bass and Vocals – Bones Sloane
Drums and Vocals – Jen Sholakis
Guitar, Piano, Violin, percussion and vocals – Greg Walker
Guitar on Loose Magic – Kurt Vile
Vocals on Strong Woman – Tain Stangret, Rachel Maserati.
Mini Moog and Tambourine on Shoegazers – Tom Healy
Synth on Forgot Myself – Dan Luscombe

Cover photo by Luke McLean Stephenson
Studio photos by Xavier Fennell
Cover design by Traianos Pakioufakis
Merch design Minna Leunig

Tour dates
www.jencloher.com/shows/

license

all rights reserved

tags

about

Jen Cloher Melbourne, Australia

Jen Cloher (Ngāpuhi & Ngāti Kahu) is a songwriter and performer living on unceded Wurundjeri land in Naarm Melbourne.

Cloher’s taut, terse brand of rock is charged with the static tension only an outsider can possess. Admirers have naturally gravitated towards Cloher’s incisive, generous songwriting. Over the course of five albums, they have become one of this continents most revered songwriters.
... more

contact / help

Contact Jen Cloher

Streaming and
Download help

Redeem code

Report this album or account

If you like Jen Cloher, you may also like: