Peep This: Jenna Lotti’s “Drive” video

Jenna Lotti is a “pop soul singer-songwriter” hailing from the Boston area. On the brink of releasing her sophomore EP Bad Habits, she has been hitting the Northeast and beyond and will celebrate the official drop of that album on October 20th at Thunder Road in Somerville, MA.

Lotti recently released a video for the third track on the 5 song collection titled “Drive”. Check it out.

Musically the song (and collection) is fantastic. It has hints of soul and a 60s vibe, its catchy as hell. With the upstroke electric guitars and swirling synths, it just has the feeling that this was a well thought and intensely crafted arrangement (thanks to the efforts of producer Susan Cattaneo). I certainly have to give her that. Recorded brilliantly with a cast of musicians, who I personally consider local music royalty, and with engineer Sean McLaughlin at the recording helm, its no wonder it sounds so polished and soulful.

With lines like “I’ve been working all night long / singing my heart out and writing down the words to this song” the writing on the record is a bit more Top 40 than American Songwriter, and with a quick glance at Britney Spears’s star on the walk of fame, and the artist walking around Hollywood in the official music video, perhaps thats exactly the point and the theme/aesthetic that Bad Habits is going for. At the heart of it, however, “Drive” is a song (and accompanying video) that peers into the process and mind of what it means to be a writer and perhaps that struggle of the balance between what is catchy/radio friendly and what is poignant, deep and meaningful.

The real star of the song is the singer-songwriters voice. She glides effortlessly throughout her range. There is an extreme comfort in her voice, though its power is evident and always on the brink of exploding throughout the verses. As the song lifts into the bridge, she lets loose a bit more. Always giving you just enough to think to yourself “holy crap, this girl can sing”. There is a sultry effect, sexy and siren like kind of on this peripheral plane. Not otherworldly, but almost dreamlike in how it dances throughout the arrangement of keys and guitar parts, swimming perhaps in the right word. Her voice, its just…beautifully badass.

The video for “Drive” matches that sentiment. A bit voyeuristic and a bit noir, the grayed palette of the cinematic piece and the true “behind the scenes” sees Lotti crafting songs in a notebook in bed, daydreaming and walking around a city full of stars. The “Drive” to get there, embedded in the words of her song…and its left its mark on me, swirling around my head after I listen, melodious, infectious and yes, catchy as hell.

Tickets for Jenna’s CD release at Thunder Road on October 20th can be picked up HERE. She also performs with another one of our favorite local badass songstresses Ruby Rose Fox at Cafe 939 on December 9th. So mark that one in the old calendar and get out!