Jen Rose is "Shattered" but alive.
Music is medicine for the spirit. To some people, this concept is far more literal than to others, and for Jen Rose -who was initiated as a priestess back in 2000- the way is clear.
For over 20 years, Jen Rose has been working and creating from within in the music industry in many capacities. The classically-trained Opera and Vocal Performer from Florida State University has worn the hats of Producer, Vocalist, Songwriter, Composer, and Recording Artist in the past two decades plus, alongside that of mother-of-two, kickass cancer survivor and mystic healer
Jen's music blurs the line between pop music and shamanistic rites, incorporating many instruments and arcane methods of production, such as tuning her music to Fibonacci Codes and frequencies, while also tuning some of her string instruments to the tendentious 432 Hz frequency.
Jen Rose is very selective with her artists and only works with high-vibrational and conscious musicians, singers, poets, producers & artists. Over the years she has recorded and performed with great artists such as: the late Prince, OutKast, Killer Mike, Celine Dion, Russill Paul. Jen Rose performed with a 4-piece jazz ensemble that performed her hit song, “Best Days” for Yoga Journey’s New Year’s Day event with over 1,000 attendees. In Atlanta, she recorded for Chamillionaire and her opera vocals were used on the “Sound of Revenge” album that debuted at number 10 on the US Billboard 200 chart, selling 800,000 copies in its first two weeks, and it later became certified platinum by Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), selling more than 1.5 million copies in the United States on December 19, of 2005.
Jen's newest opus is called "Shattered" and it's a break-up album unlike any other before it. Mixing the ever-popular subgenre of pop music with all the sensibilities and genuine intentions of the New-Age genre (broadly speaking). The album originates in 2020 after the mother of all breakups shook Jen's life and "Shattered" her heart." I’m humbled and grateful I had the skill set to record myself in such an emotional state and actually produce quality audio." she says. After recording 30 whole songs, she put the album away for the time being, afraid that perhaps the raw anger she poured into the songs was unfit for release to a wide audience, but after a long process of self-examination and mystical practices, she felt encouraged to re-visit the album and even finish it. "I studied all the great breakup albums from Beyonce, Taylor Swift, Fiona Apple, Adele, Gwen Stefani, and Alanis Morissette," she reveals, ultimately finding in them the correct perspective upon which to share this deeply vulnerable, intimate, and powerful collection of songs that she had condensed down to 15 mighty tracks that we're looking at today.
Snake
Snake slithers underfoot like its namesake. It prowls elegant and smooth with fearsome intent. The song is however not at all the sensual tension its minimalistic electronic proposal suggests, instead, the song is a brief mantra-like denunciation of the very source of Jen's heartbreak. "You're a cold-hearted snake!" she incants in a spellbinding manner. A true mood-setter piece if there ever was one.
Shattered.
Before the new beginning comes destruction. and the titular second track, "Shattered" reflects upon that very notion. Once again, chanting her sour mantra, Jen's terse and poignant songwriting withholds unimportant details from the listener, relying on her emotional performance to implicitly state whatever may have been left unsaid.
Don't Say Another Word
For the third tack, Jen steps out of the electronic and into the classic singer-songwriter realm of piano ballads. If Jen's performance is what carried the succinct lyricism of "Shattered", here it does even more than that, as her haunting wailing truly elevates this supremely minimalistic track well above its predecessors, and it opens up the proverbial floodgates for all that's to follow.
Love Sick
With the way that "Don't Say Another Word" segways into Lovesick, they might as well be considered the two halves of an operatic piece. "Love Sick" is even more stripped-down in instrumental terms, relying mainly on the ghostly blues-infused vocals and poignant guitar chords sprinkled throughout.
POS
As the title suggests, "Piece of Shit" is a profane, cathartic piece that revels in the strength of its words as an outlet for frustration and anger. None of the emotions come out in a chaotic cavalcade. The storm that rages within Jen's chest does so disturbingly quiet. As she denounces the lies of her former lover and the pain and anguish they've caused, she sounds more like Enya than anything else. An ethereal and elven-like grace permeates her at every turn, even as she speaks her hurtful truth and pours tear-stained verses onto us.
My Bed Is Holy & My Body Is Sacred (interlude)
My bed Is holy sees a return to the luxurious, groovy electronic backing of the first two tracks, allowing some of the emotional intensity we've accumulated to take a bit of a breather. This kind of song is what I like to call "High-concept Runway Music", as its avant-garde elegance and enthralling minimalism certainly befits the surrealist dynamism of the performance-art fashion show. This song and the trippy and ethereal interlude that follows directly reflect the 'Initiated priestess' side of Jen rose and the shamanistic revelation of the divine through the sensual/sexual.
Someone Else
"Someone Else" is a musical synthesis of the two previous kinds of tracks that Jen has been presenting us with so far. On The one hand, we have the haunting soundscape of her highly emotional voice set to the sparse texturing of the piano. On the other hand, the track is set on the solid foundation of a delicate pop beat, this allows the track to attain a faint echo of R&B flavor that feels like a truly fresh addition to the album's overall structure.
I Miss You
Don't be misled by the title at first. 'I Miss You' is in my opinion the most heart-rending song in the entire album. "I Miss the Person I thought You were" is an incredibly sad and powerful admission to make, one that truly sets this heartbreak song apart from the many thousands written before it. A true stand-out
Now That You're Gone
"Now That you're Gone" is an epic 8-minute lament and a perfect follow-up to "I Miss You", and it unfolds itself into the piano ballad element that Jen has been brewing so far, only now it takes a more earnest approach, fully committing to the piano in a less minimalistic composition.
Lost A Good Woman
Written from a place of thorough self-love, "Lost A Good Woman" is a continued lament to that of "Now That You're Gone", only now the framing of it is radically changed. In this Song, Jen recounts and owns her value as a woman, a lover, and a companion. More than a protest piece, this song is by far the most empowering track so far in the album. It also seems to mark the end of a particular narrative thread in the album.
Into Light
It has been a long and arduous journey through a bitter-cold wasteland of lies and broken hearts, but out of the darkness of loss and pain, emerges the most angelic and ethereal track of them all. "Into Light" lays its message bare in the first few lines, "Oooo Alchemizing -Alchemize the Darkness Into Light" sings Jen with an apologetically new-age sound (as in the style of music).
Balmic and Therapeutic, "Into Light" truly begins the more active and exciting part of the spiritual healing process for Jen Rose. The part where the burden of pain and struggle is let down in order to piece together the pieces of a life worth mending and living.
Manifestation
Exactly what it says on the tin. With this song, Jen tries to bring about a new love in her life, one that's actually deserving of her, saying "I don't chase, I attract divine masculine" and "A man who longs be served By a Goddess". This song blurs the line between mysticism and art, more so than any before it.
Imma Queen
The ultimate empowering anthem "Imma Queen" is an affirmation of status and worth for Jen, who has allowed herself to grieve much of what she's experienced. Just as every night has its dawn, on the other side of pain there's always a myriad of new opportunities for happiness and freedom, all you need to realize is that all pain will pass and that your life is worth piecing together after the fall.
Imma Queen's dripping with diva attitude and energy, and it's all entirely warranted. The Phenomenal R&B-infused track is a huge stand-out in the album in every regard, feeling almost like the complete opposite of songs like "I Miss You" and "Love Sick", only that the message and theme are perfectly in-line with the character arc of the entire album, making it feel like a well-earned sudden turn of the tides.
Forgiveness
At long last, the final track, "Forgiveness" arrives as the final confession and expiation on behalf of Jen. The forgiveness is, of course, aimed at herself.
Allowing yourself to be blinded and hurt by someone will often result in intense feelings of guilt and even shame. Though in reality, the fault lies entirely with the traitorous party, it's easy to fall into self-sabotage and cloud your path to healing. Jen's own words regarding this parting track are:
"After healing comes forgiveness, of ourselves and others and acknowledging that life is all one big drama we are choosing to participate in. I have let go. I have healed. I have transformed my shattered heart into a mosaic of strength, power, and confidence.
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Break-Up albums or songs aren't truly my forté, nonetheless, judging this album for all its other qualities I cannot help but be wowed at both the raw transparency and bravery that it took to make it. Jen achieves much with relatively little, as the album is often an exercise in minimalism for the sake of stark beauty.
Conceptually, the true protagonist is Jen, and the emotional charge of her voice. The music production itself is minimalistic to the point of it being a second specter haunting the back of the album. Her songs are lyrically brief and quite blunt, leaving little room for equivocal interpretations. In short: "Shattered" is the most brutally honest and direct album I've heard in a very long time.
Though I (thankfully) cannot relate on a personal level to the kind of catastrophic heartbreak here depicted, the listening experience has been doubtlessly cathartic, and I can't help but feel like the incantations of "Forgiveness" had some hidden effect on me.
MEET THE AUTHOR
Samuel Aponte is Venezuelan-born raised and based.
I joined Rival Magazine after a few years of doing PR work for independent musicians of all stripes; understanding their struggles to be heard in a sea of constant ADHD noise and paywalled access to platforms, I now bring a willingness to always appreciate and encourage the effort and creativity that artists put into their work . Can also find some of my writings on LADYGUNN and We Found New Music.