Pretty Jane Wants You To Kiss Your Friends
The name Pretty Jane invokes the image of the conventional, sweet girl next door, however Pretty Jane is anything but conventional. The Detroit-born Nashville-based trio’s origin story involves dating twins and an enemies to bandmates storyline. Bass player Luca DiVergilio and lead guitarist Ethan Strain dated a set of twins before Luca moved to Spain. Upon his return, Luca discovered that vocalist Trevor Dalrymple was now dating his ex. Despite their initial hatred for each other, a shared passion for art forced them to bond, and thus Pretty Jane was born. Now a tight-knit band, the trio is presenting their new single “Do You Want Me Around,” alongside their new EP.
Pretty Jane has stated that they make music that feels like kissing your friends. Basically it’s a call to make more bad decisions. While Pretty Jane promotes making bad decisions, their bad decisions appear to have caught up to them in “Do You Want Me Around.” The single feels like the beginning of the end of a relationship. Dalrymple lays out the full story throughout the song, beginning with the verse as he sings “Now you’ve gone speechless / Like you’re breaking up / You only talk in small pieces.” As the song progresses, the problems in the relationship become clearer as Dalrymple sings “Don’t get angry / I just miss the days when we both spoke the same language.” In the final verse, there’s one last attempt made to reconcile as Dalrymple reminisces on the good days singing “Remember when you’d visit / You’d laugh like a raven / Then we’d just sit there / Can we sit again?” The chorus features Dalrymple practically begging his partner for answers as he asks “Do you want me around? / Are you loving someone different now? / Did I make it up? / Did I make it up? / Do you want / Do you want me around?”
The lyrics are caught in an in between. Will the relationship be saved? Or has it come to a bitter end? The instrumentation emphasizes the confusion in the lyrics. “Do You Want Me Around” could have easily been a stripped back desolate ballad. Instead it has a pensive, melancholy groove to it. Bass, drums, and the occasional synth drive the song forward instead of leaving it in a pit of despair. The final moments of the song erupt with loud harsh electric guitar and drums, emphasizing all the conflicting feelings that are swirling around Pretty Jane’s mind as they come to terms with the confusing status of the relationship.
