After a meteoric rise, JENNIE embraces the “Fallen Angel.”
The multi-hyphenate, who gained global recognition as a member of BLACKPINK, released her debut EP on Friday. The three-track digital project comes nearly one-and-a-half years after her debut studio album, “Ruby,” which received international acclaim. What distinguishes the EP from “Ruby” is its unorthodox release strategy: The physical release will contain three more CD-exclusive songs when it ships at the end of October.
The release of “Fallen Angel” arrives at the tail end of JENNIE’s historic festival circuit run. The majority of the tracks from “Fallen Angel” – including the physical-exclusives “sweettooth” and “lockitdown” – were performed live for festival audiences and circulated online before the project’s official announcement.
Though its release strategy poses a myriad of questions about access, the EP itself is a testament to JENNIE’s continued ability to captivate listeners through immersive worlds following the success of “Ruby.” While the title track and “Less than a Lover” produce vivid environments through the interplay between lyrics and sound, the prose on “HEAVEN” feels hollow, as the track relies heavily on its instrumentals to set the tone. The impact of the three additional physical-exclusive tracks on the overall cohesion of the EP remains to be seen.
The curtain opens with “FALLEN ANGEL” and the tranquilizing cadence of gentle guitar strums. The singer casually beckons their intended listener to stay, delivering their plea in an unobtrusive manner that later contrasts the instrumental. “Don’t leave a fallen angel out here on her own,” she reasons. However, a subtle sense of unease permeates the scene and manifests through an undercurrent of sonic distortion.
There’s an electronic quality to the production of JENNIE’s voice, positioning her more closely to computer than human. As she repeats the phrase “I’m searching,”the baseline guitar melody remains unaffected, despite the addition of short clusters of sound. All together, these elements create the impression of a series of glitches, in which JENNIE’s narration effectively garners intrigue into why the world warps around her desire.
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“HEAVEN” expands on its predecessor, providing insight into what exactly she hopes to prolong. However, the transition between the opening two tracks is harsh, as the mellow end of “FALLEN ANGEL” immediately dovetails into the middle of the high-stakes environment of “HEAVEN.” A few additional seconds of silence before “HEAVEN” could have provided enough space for full-EP listeners to stay immersed in the overarching worldbuilding, while minimizing the impact on those engaging with it as a standalone track.
Though a more gradual build may have favored the EP’s overall cohesiveness, the track’s opening line tees up its central argument as it reveals a protagonist delighting in a flawed relationship’s dysfunction. “Crash and burn / That’s my favorite part,” she confesses. The surrounding atmosphere feels drenched in an ever-present cloud of static that eats away at each note before it reaches a listener’s ears. The instrumental’s angst tapers out for the verse, inducing a sense of numbness that contrasts the controlled rage of its opening statement.
Despite the potency of its sound, “HEAVEN” relies on overly simplified lyrics and a singular verse to round out its runtime. It’s almost as if the self-awareness found in its introduction makes the protagonist too embarrassed to actually meaningfully detail her emotions. Sonically, the stage is set for a cascade of catharsis, but its vulnerability-averse execution makes it an ambient song at best.
The EP concludes with “Less than a Lover,” which directly positions itself as a song destined for summer, evoking the imagery of water droplets and tan lines in the process. The pre-release single’s echo-like production substitutes the electronic-quality of previous tracks for a more natural source of distortion that emulates lo-fi’s instant nostalgic effect.
The tension JENNIE introduces through “FALLEN ANGEL” and “HEAVEN” is resolved as the sonic and lyrical elements of “Less than a Lover” are in tonal agreement. The final track’s laid-back nature returns listeners to their initial state of calm when the first notes of “FALLEN ANGEL” rang out. This time the listener is left to wonder if the not-quite-lover JENNIE seeks is intended to serve as a panacea for the events of “Fallen Angel,” or if the EP has a hidden cyclical nature with the decisions of its final track acting as a catalyst for yet another fall.
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JENNIE’s debut EP delves into a dysfunctional world in which its protagonist embraces desires that are cathartically destructive. It’s unclear what JENNIE’s actual stance is on the story she depicts in this EP. Though “Fallen Angel’s” story arc will be experienced in a completely new manner when its tracklist doubles with the EP’s physical release, it’s important to retain a healthy dose of skepticism for songs that can become vehicles for listeners to romanticize unhealthy and potentially dangerous situations.
Moreover, the decision to double the EP’s tracklist for its physical release could be viewed as a thinly-veiled cash-grab, but it could also be lauded as an attempt to reinvigorate a societal value for physical media. The dominant attitude will become more evident as ODD ATELIER, the record label founded by JENNIE, continues to reveal what it is and is not willing to paywall through subsequent releases.
However, the most detrimental impact from the EP’s physical release strategy is its alienation of global fans who are unable or unwilling to pay for international shipping, reaching nearly four times the price of a single physical EP. The decision to leave half the project increasingly inaccessible for fans outside of favored regions raises questions about what level of access we expect to art and whether we are entitled to the completeness of a story. More importantly, it begs the question, what do global artists owe global fans?
“Fallen Angel” is jaded in philosophy and soft in delivery. The emotionally unsavory world it builds makes it a relevant topic in discussions about what role an artist or their label plays in how consumers interact with their art – or if they even have any responsibility in the matter at all.
Despite the many real-life debates “Fallen Angel” inherently provokes, engaging with the EP as a fictional endeavor is where the three-track digital project truly gets its wings.
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