In the midst of all this collective uncertainty, it seems like most of us are still working through our own individual uncertainties. For LA songwriter Jenny O., the recent concerning variable most prominent in her life has been the loss of hearing in her right ear—a terrifying development for anyone, regardless of whether or not they’re making a living off their music.
The good news is that this diagnosis has inspired the artist’s third studio album, and first for the Mama Bird Recording family, which includes songwriting greats like Damien Jurado, Courtney Marie Andrews, and Vetiver. New Truth will drop June 19, and O. is previewing the release with the pristine soft-indie jam “God Knows Why.” “My right ear’s gone forever / It was there, now it’s gone” she recites bluntly over lushly produced instrumentation.
“I wrote ‘God Knows Why’ after going deaf in one ear and asking why perplexing things happen—fate, cause and effect,” she shares. “When I lost my hearing, a doctor said, ‘God took it.’ Something happened to me neurologically, but here we are. Why do people behave against their own interests? Why do some people survive and others don’t? New truth has to do with coming to terms with a New Reality, what is and what will be now that things have changed or information has come to light. Feels accurate in this period of adjustment and great sadness.”
Stream the new single below, and pre-order the record here.
