NEW YORK CITY BAROQUE POP ARTIST REID JENKINS RELEASES DEBUT ALBUM ‘HALL OF GEMS’
November 3, 2023 BY Bailey Vigliaturo
Today, Baroque-pop, multi-instrumentalist, songwriter, and producer Reid Jenkins is proud to share his debut album Hall Of Gems. Accompanying the announcement, Reid is releasing the official music video for “Changes,” directed by Charlie Gillette. “Changes” is just one of ten new songs from this stunning collection of music that showcases a divergence from Jenkins’ established style, highlighting his songwriting through a new thematic structure. Hall Of Gems is available on all streaming platforms here.
WATCH (AND SHARE) “CHANGES” HERE
Initially teased with “Giant Aster,” “Last Love,” “North Star,” and “Living Right,” Reid worked closely with mixer-engineer and producer Sahil Ansari in early 2022, to write, arrange, and orchestrate what would be known as Hall Of Gems. It’s a striking and stunning statement of intent from the rising singer-songwriter. At once recalling Sufjan Stevens’ intimate storytelling and the ornate instrumentation of Andrew Bird, Hall of Gems is intricate songwriting at its best, but with all the glorious messiness that comes from being human. Jenkins is tackling heavy and universal themes—aimlessness, malaise, and the general sense that your direction in life might be yet undecided.
Hall of Gems zeroes in on that feeling of gear-grinding drift—a record that’s about, in Jenkins’ words, “Feeling stuck and unable to find a grip while spinning my wheels and feeling like a dilettante. Nothing was holding me back but me, but I was a pretty big obstacle.” Nonetheless, Jenkins undoubtedly persevered, expanding his own self-production knowledge and incorporating electronic elements to his music.
Reid immersed himself in the American folk scene and mastering the fiddle in his youth. He embraced his own voice and formed the indie rock outfit Morningsiders with band co-founders Magnus Ferguson and Robert Frech while attending Columbia University. As the band has continued to follow their arrow, however, Jenkins increasingly felt a passion to make music on his own as well. His blends his sense of theatrical whimsicality, lyrical inventiveness, and a lush, warm sonic approach to instrumentation to deliver a folk-pop Odyssey that sounds as if being broadcast on a cosmic scale. Hall Of Gems is just the beginning for Reid Jenkins.
Reid Jenkins
Hall Of Gems
Tracklist
Giant Aster
Living Right
Changes
Over The Telephone
I’m Alright
Pom Pom Blanc
Last Love
Dollhouse Neighbors
Where You Left Me
Tiger Bounce
North Star
Summer Rains
