Listen: Face + Heel – “Jennifer/Jessica”

13 May 2014, 14:05 | Written by Jon Putnam

(Tracks)

(Face + Heel)

Other people’s houses – people you don’t know – are weird, inherently so. They have distinct smells, odours that aren’t like those in your house, and objects that are entirely bizarre taken out of context. Paintings of unknown origin, quilts and doilies exuding utmost kitsch, curio cabinets stuffed with inane, miniature porcelain and pewter trinkets…

Coming off a series of singles where they’ve dipped their toes in styles including disco-tinted pop of both the coloured and ultraviolet variety and some hometown shady, dub-inflected fare, Bristol duo Face + Heel treat us to such giddily addictive absurdities on their latest tune, “Jennifer/Jessica”.

Purportedly based on a true tale about a pair of teenage girls who regularly raided the home of a single mother in their council estate, the song’s rubbery, awkwardly joyous synths and the pair’s breathy, ingenuous vocals fit the subject matter to a tee. Half-humorously and half-seriously, “Jennifer/Jessica” addresses a melodramatically harrowing “truth” in the eyes of a teenager: once you’ve gone on to do “grown up” things (have kids, live on your own), you may as well pack it in.

In the meantime, catch Face + Heel live next 15 May at The Waiting Room, London.