Heartbreak is always an effective catalyst for creative expression, and if you can shred on guitar and have the vocal ability to turn that into something other people can also find catharsis in – and rock out to – then power to you.
Christchurch-based Mim Jensen is a relative newcomer to the Aotearoa music scene, but she and her band aren't wasting any time taking their place as ones to watch. With first single Germaphobe out today, they've just finished recording a full album that's due for release in 2023.
"It was just going to be an EP, but I've been sitting on some of these songs for four or five years now," says Jensen. "We were reflecting on how much material we had, and were like, 'oh let's just do it, let's record an album'. Pretty badass move we thought – no one knows who we are, here's an album."
So, into the studio they went. Four days at LOHO in Christchurch's Addington area with producer Josh Logan at the helm, and there's magic in that making.
"We've developed so much by solely focusing on playing live the last two years," says Jensen of the band she built after returning from a stint in Melbourne, which features Reuben Ishrahm on lead guitar, Liam Dodge on drums, and Joshua Wright on bass.
"We've gotten so much better as musicians and I personally feel like I've really found my voice over the last two years. Plus our musical chemistry is spot on now. We trust each other so much and that's what makes it."
She's not wrong. There's an intuitive professionalism to the group's performance that doesn't come out of nowhere, and Jensen's vocal delivery itself is skilled and capable – immediately positioning her as one of the most compelling frontpeople in Aotearoa.
Now 24, Jensen started writing music seriously in her late teens, but was always a musical kid.
"I started learning guitar when I was 10 or 11, did piano for a little bit, and I would always sing around the house. My grandparents were like, it seems like you really like to do this, do you want to take singing lessons?"
And she did. Those early vocal lessons progressed to studying jazz at Ara Music Arts – an impressive foundation, although these days the process of songwriting usually boils down to just Jensen and her guitar.
"When I write music I'm not really thinking of it from a theory standpoint, I'm always doing what feels right, although it is good to have that base for sure, because if you're stuck you can always lean back on that."
The first two recordings to be shared by Jensen and her band are Germaphobe and Hurts Like Hell (performed as part of this feature). And they come with a little bit of context:
"Both songs are about Eddie Kiesanowski from Pretty Stooked," Jensen divulges. "A bit of juicy gossip there. We were in a relationship for nearly six years, and both of those songs are kind of my break-up songs about him.
"When I wrote Germaphobe it probably meant something different to what it means to me now, but basically Germaphobe is about navigating a hard time in your life, but ultimately learning how to stand in your own power. Reclaiming yourself again. Because when you've been with someone for so long you can lose yourself in that person and forget who you are."
Conversely, Hurts Like Hell is about "how you want to go back but know you shouldn't. It's very vulnerable, asking if they'll always love you even though it's over".
Despite the pain surrounding the changing of their relationship, Jensen and Kiesanowski are on good terms – which is lucky, because they're both bedded into Ōtautahi's thriving music scene.
"Christchurch is so small you kind of know everyone, and you're always playing with your mates. The scene has gotten so much better, more people going out and supporting gigs. When I was at jazz school the scene wasn't what it is now. There's been a definite change."
Listen to the Locals Only podcast below. Made with funding from NZ On Air.