By the time you're reading this, Carmen Jane's "Blame You" is about to break 30k views on Youtube, and if you haven't heard the name Carmen Jane before, let the staggering success of this music video prepare you for what you're about to listen because she's a serious talent worthy of your full attention. Hailing from Washington State, this dark-pop songstress has all the dramatic poise and cinematic flair that we've come to expect of the genre. Her voice lures you in and beguiles you with her soft and almost romantic undertones before she flashes the sharp cutting edge of her lyrics. This alone makes her come off as paradoxically unpredictable; you know what you should expect, yet somehow she always manages to surprise you, and perhaps even herself too, as this stage of her life is just as new to her as it is to those discovering her music. "For the longest time I lived in a place of not knowing who I was while at the same time discovering who I am" she says " A few years back I started to peel back the layers covering my eyes. Realizing that it was possible to live in my body but still not really know who I was." Carmen Jane's latest release is one that I find particularly fascinating, and not just on its musical qualities but in its lyrical content. We've all heard songs about externalizing frustration with other people, in fact, the realm of pop music is saturated with songs about being betrayed, utilized, manipulated, or worse. This time, however, Carmen Jane turns the tropes of the genre on their headsby writing a song about one's own faults.
"Blame You” is about the journey of anger that we often take. The finger-pointing, heat on your tongue, fiery kind of emotion. It’s about allowing yourself to feel at the highest intensity knowing that you should eventually come off it & face the issue at hand. " In spite of its title, "Blame You" isn't actually about projecting guilt but rather about taking responsibility for how we react and cope with frustration. Once you've been hurt, or find yourself experiencing difficulties, the temptation let yourself angry and vent out might be too strong to resist, and in the process, you end up saying things you don't mean, hurting people when you shouldn't, and even failing to address the true problem that lies at the heart of it all; that's why you always have to remember to point that finger at yourself and find out where was it that you failed. The music video itself was directed by Raj Bose and produced by the team at Factory Town -who've already worked together with Carmen- and it seeks to create a neon-soaked representation of what it's like blaming someone else to avoid recognizing your role in things.
FOLLOW CARMEN JANE
.png)
.png)
