In Pursuit of an Out Of This World Girl, JeanLou Shines On SuperNova Girl

JeanLou is one of the city’s most active performers — he released three projects in just one year. He kicked things off in 2017 with, Since Your Listening… The five-song project was the official start of his musical journey. What came next is what really caught my attention.

In early 2018 came the arrival of Melodies & Remedies, Vol. 1. On that project is one of my favorite tracks by JeanLou, “Sade,” a warm-hearted ode to “the one” in his life. This was moment I became fully aware of his talents, but arriving late to the party I knew something new was in store for the future. Thankfully, I didn’t have to wait too long for that, as project number 3, SuperNova Girl, would arrive a few months after Melodies & Remedies, Vol. 1

Strapped with 10 songs, SuperNova Girl sports features Z100Wave and Yoshe Mars, along with production from Gold, DreamNation, Mantra and Rrarebear. Throughout the album, JeanLou displays his versatility, stringing together songs with tempos and different sounds, from slow-paced and stripped-down R&B to the more upbeat and energetic dance sound.

Kicking the album off with a clip from the 1999 movie, Zenon: Girl of the 21st Century, JeanLou gets things going with “Zenon’s Interlude.” The track features a dose of the slow-paced, stripped-down R&B, which appears once again in the following track, “Lust.” “Zenon’s Interlude” serves as a slight nudge forward into the album’s content, depicting his experience with a girl who’s “out of this world.” Vulnerable as ever, he sits on the wing of his spaceship, top hat tipped down low, as he puts his feelings on wax for this girl. Moving to “Lust,” which features an amazing sample of XXXTENTACION’s “Jocelyn Flores,” the tempo stays the same as he displays a bit of fear and caution, questioning the validity of his feelings as he’s never felt a love like this.

While the tempo of the album picks up after “Lust,” JeanLou returns to this style of R&B for the album’s outro with “Planet Nebula.” The song serves as a peaceful landing that ends the space trip that is SuperNova Girl.

Things pick up throughout the midsection of the album, starting with “Pride” and “Reminisce.” The two tracks are infused with a bit of dance hall as JeanLou reaches a checkpoint on his out-of-this-world love trip. In terms of love, he’s no longer chasing to have it, rather, he’s chasing to keep it. “Pride” speaks on that exactly as JeanLou shows an overbearing desire to fight for this love, promising to never let it die. “Reminisce” focuses on the good times and high moments of their relationship, and the ones they’ll create together in the future.

There’s high tempo and energy on “Starship Troopers” with Yoshe Mars. With JeanLou leading the way once again, the production slowly builds, coming together and reaching its peak by the chorus’ arrival.

The journey through space that is SuperNova Girl must take listeners to their celebrated destination. “Pedestal,” my personal favorite off the album, serves a fitting song for said celebration. Its feel good bounce and boastful lyrics are the right ingredients to have it ring off in functions big or small.

SuperNova Girl is another step up the ladder of improvement for JeanLou. One of the biggest highlights on the album is his versatility as he takes on different sounds and creates cohesive and solid pieces of work.

The album’s narrative is an interesting element of this album. As he pursues this out-of-this-world girl, he experiences doubts and struggles, but his love and affection for her push him through it. This is an impressive output by JeanLou, and I’m very interested to see where the next step on the ladder of improvement takes him.