While not widely known on the music radar of your average listener, Rhode Island has certainly produced some good artists – John Cafferty and Throwing Muses (Kristin Hersh, Tanya Donnelly and company) being among the most famous for listeners in our realm of interests. But Providence counts as the breeding ground to the brilliant artist we present you today.

Today The Big Takeover premieres the newest single from Jenn Vix, who has quite the music pedigree – both in terms of the number of releases she has put out and the number of notable musicians she has collaborated with over the years. “Complicated Man” is the lead track from her forthcoming EP, titled Unlocked, which will release on October 20th. The single launches ahead of that on September 29th.

Although impeccably performed, these songs were inspired by a situation that is actually quite dreadful. ““Complicated Man” is about covert and or destructive relationships. This EP is inspired by feelings I had when I became ill, and I almost died due to a misdiagnosis, then surgery, and how I made it through it. It also deals with thoughts and feelings I had about people who were in my life at the time of this experience,” explains Vix.

Vix continues, “I wanted to explore different sounds, and it felt good to do so. After my illness, it took me a year and a half to be able to even listen to music again. Change is scary, but it can also be refreshing. I recently had to burn a few bridges, but they say that the brightest light can come from the bridges you burn. I agree.”

While Vix’s songcraft often takes her into a realm heavier than pure pop, her new single sounds like a hybrid of Garbage (Vix’s vocals resemble Shirley Manson’s here) and soundtracks to ’60s French films. Her vocal delivery is endearing, yet cold; the musical backdrop is impeccable and driven. The backing vocals are the icing on a mighty fine cake.

The EP also features a remix of “Complicated Man”, produced by Danny Chavis of shoegaze pioneers The Veldt / Apollo Height*s. Chavis also contributes guitar and other instrumentation here. His background is as rich as they come, having collaborated with *TV On The Radio, Mos Def, and Lady Miss Kier (Deee-Lite), and shared the stage with The Pixies, Throwing Muses, Echo & The Bunnymen, Cocteau Twins, Manic Street Preachers, The Jesus and Mary Chain, Oasis, Chuck D, Living Colour, and Schooly D.

But he’s not the only legend to be involved. John Ashton, original guitarist of The Psychedelic Furs, appears throughout the track “Unlocked”. Vix previously collaborated with Ashton on two collaborative tracks (“The Woman with No Fear” and “Weirdo”) from the five-track EP Strange Buildings.

Jenn Vix has also recorded and released music with Reeves Gabrels, current guitarist for The Cure and former guitarist for David Bowie; Andy Anderson (The Cure); Marco Pirroni (Adam Ant, Rema Rema, The Models, Sinead O’Connor); and Dirk Ivens of Absolute Body Control, The Klinik, and Dive. If you extend way back to her beginnings, it happened in high school with the band Disco Donut, where she sang back-up alongside singer Nicole Willis (Nicole Willis & The Soul Investigators) and Adam Horovitz (The Beastie Boys) on bass.

“COMPLICATED MAN” LYRICS

He’s a complicated man with an agenda
He’s got lots of moves up his sleeve
He has got a plan to have the upper hand
He’s gonna get his way, you’ll see
(He’s gonna take over your world)

He’s a complicated man with intentions
And he has got his sights set on you
He’s gonna have his way
There’s no other way for you
(He’s gonna take over your world)

When you’re sitting by his side
You won’t see beyond his eyes
As though the room doesn’t exist
You’re standing on the ground
Your heart is upside-down
Unspoken power in his kiss

He’s a complicated man with an agenda
He knows all the right things to say
He has got a plan to have you in his hands
He wants to take you far away
(He’s gonna take over your world)

Well, he’s a complicated man, with intentions
And he has got his life bet on you
He’s gonna have his way
It’s the better way for you
(He’s gonna take over your world)

When you’re sitting by his side
You won’t see beyond his eyes
As though the room doesn’t exist
You’re standing on the ground
Your heart is upside-down
Unspoken power in his kiss

“Complicated Man” releases on September 29th, followed by the release of the Unlocked EP on October 20th. It will be made available on he usual streaming and store platforms, but it already available for pre-order on Jenn Vix’s Bandcamp

Seeing as we’ll need to wait for the other tracks on this EP to be unveiled, let’s enjoy some of Jenn Vix’s previous tracks, the first of which involves her collaboration with John Ashton.

JENN VIX
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