Photos by Dylan Simmons & Ava London
Singer-songwriter, orchestra kid, Trump impersonator… in the span of a Friday evening, the mononymous Jordana proved herself a jack of all trades.
Jordana Nye’s sugary bedroom pop sound is on full display in 2024’s Lively Premonition, her fourth studio album which traverses theatrical to orchestral to comedic overtones. An enigmatic album which rejects the rigidity of genre, Lively Premonition is the product of Jordana’s multifaceted inspirations, talents, and emotionalities, drawing from the incestuous 1970s Laurel Canyon folk rock scene, lo-fi indie beats, and even the transformative power of therapy. Clearly, only a well-adjusted individual could so nonchalantly drop the devastatingly serious breakup track “Wrong Love” beside the ironic “Like a Dog,” where Jordana compares her unhealthy devotion to that of a dog’s unconditional loyalty. Juxtaposing these two tracks sheds light on a running theme in Lively Premonition, where Jordana oscillates between expressions of raw emotional depth and self-aware humor.
Lively Premonition got its flowers on The Echo’s quaint stage, a cozy Los Angeles venue attracting a healthy dose of eyeliner-ed, coupled up, beer-drinking Jordana fans. Like myself, I’m sure it was many of these fans’ first times experiencing Jordana in all her independent glory. Similarly, I have to imagine Jordana’s voice—scintillating, lucid, even twangy—surpassed the crowd’s expectations set by recordings which, though beyond pleasing to the ear, don’t hold a candle to her captivating live vocal performance. She joked about finding refuge among the orchestra kids as a theater-kid reject, and all I can say to that is what the hell and thank god; what the hell because her perfect pitch in the inflection-filled “theater kid song,” “The One I Knew,” would have reconciled even the most elitist of theater buffs, and thank god because her velvety violin trills contributed a welcome texture to the full-bodied “We Get By.” Band members Nick Waters (keys), Ian Michael (guitar), Blake Richardson (drums), and Saguiv Rosenstock (bass) provided a melodic, chilled backdrop underscoring Jordana’s bright vocals and violin solos. Evidently, Jordana’s band was accustomed not only to supporting the singer with their musicality, but also in their sportsmanship, watching quietly and amusedly as Jordana cheekily performed bit after bit. Her quirky, endearing personality, though reserved at first admittedly out of nervousness, added to the show’s appeal. Besides the on-point impression of our 47th president, Jordana also poked fun at her pilgrim-esque dress (“I’m dressed like I voted for the guy!”), and indulged the audience by reciprocating their barking during “Like a Dog.”
50 minutes flew by unnaturally fast, and before we knew it, the final keys to the evocative “Your Story’s End” were fading, leaving a contemplative crowd basking in Jordana’s nostalgia-inducing crooning. Personally, I remember feeling slighted at the time, “no way it doesn’t even go an hour”; to my pleasant surprise, the show in fact did go over an hour. Jordana rounded out her encore-less (someone finally gets it!) set classily, with a Steely Dan cover and a “TV Girl Trilogy.” The former was “Any Major Dude Will Tell You,” featuring impressive guitar solos cemented by delicate keyboard work that provided a welcome spotlight on Jordana’s talented musicians. The latter included crowd favorites “Summer’s Over,” “Sweet to Dream,” and “Better in the Dark,” a deal sweetened by the fact that TV Girl’s very own Brad Petering was identified by Jordana in the crowd.
Jordana’s charisma might have been a highlight of her set at The Echo, but what was singularly most impressive about her performance was her voice, ascending and descending with such ease it was at times hard to believe we were indeed witnessing a live performance. I left the venue convinced of the merit of listening to Lively Premonition in full, an album with range. It showcases Jordana at her most vulnerable, her most funny, her most grandiose, and her most humble, all the while maintaining the professional composure of one who knows she can sing, who generously bestows her talents upon those for whom a healthy dose of lilting indie pop soothes the soul.
Listen to Lively Premonition below!
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