By Abi Falin Horspool
Jenn Blosil, a true symphony of sunshine, collaborated with different producers to complement the wide range of musical textures in her album GiRL iNDiGO. Accentuated by her beautifully raspy voice, Jenn’s music is a fusion of moody classical piano, alternative rock, and her “first love”: R&B. Jenn says she’s always known that, backed by a record label or not, she could make a record that had “all the sounds [she] wanted.” Jenn might be an artist with Christian values, but her music doesn’t tick the typical “Christian artist” boxes.
Initially, Jenn was “just writing songs.” But as GiRL iNDiGO began to take shape, Jenn realized that everything about the album was symbolic to her. She says GiRL iNDiGO is the story of what it’s been like for her coming to terms with the belief that she’s a spiritual being that now has a body.
The first track, “WHAT’S WRONG WiTH ME”, beautifully captures these feelings of alienation. As a child, Jenn says that she felt the people around her cared about things that she just couldn’t seem to care about. The haunting, almost out-of-tune piano echoes the frustrated lyrics of “I’ll never be a cool girl,” followed by, “I’m more concerned with what God thinks of me.”
These themes of insecurity and divine identity are melded into every song on the album. “TiRED” is a raw, honest song about the reality of mental illness underscored by a catchy drumbeat and background ‘oohs.’ “DiViNE” is one of my favorite songs on Jenn’s album, with its queenly sound and the velvety-ness of Jenn’s voice. Jenn said this song was written about “creating a space of safety” and intimacy with another person.
The closing track, “ALiEN,” highlights feeling trapped in your own skin with echoey, airy, space-like sounds. Jenn says the album ends with this song because it shows her realization that, “Oh, there’s nothing wrong with me… Planet Earth is a temporary home.”
Writing GiRL iNDiGO was cathartic for Jenn, and she says that she’s come to feel very differently about being human. Jenn invited album listeners to feel a little piece of this and, like her, love “the divine moment of eating an orange, and the divine moment of now, and the sacred sacrament of the present moment.”
Make sure to follow Jenn Blosil on Instagram. You can listen to “DiViNE” below!