Fresh, fun, and ever-so-slightly self-destructive, ella jane’s “Calling Card” is a song born out of passion and adrenaline: Unnervingly catchy and raucous in a way that only the slickest indie pop music can finesse.
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Stream: “Calling Card” – ella jane
The careful romanticization not of the tragedy itself, but the circumstances surrounding it, captivated me.
Fresh, fun, and ever-so-slightly self-destructive, ella jane’s “Calling Card” is a song born out of passion and adrenaline: Unnervingly catchy and raucous in a way that only the slickest indie pop music can finesse. Singing about serial killers and ex-lovers, deceit and broken hearts, jane gives us a sweet singalong we can enjoy on full blast, losing ourselves to the beat as an unsuspecting narrator gets lost in a potentially deadly romance.
i was asleep for a year
but then you came and woke me up
you’d tell me what i wanna hear, i bought it
pour me a glass and i’ll get drunk
but i’m getting sober
and i heard some things about you, babe
you’re getting good at alibis
so, i’ll let you over
but i’ll stand right by the fire escape
cause i bet you’re sharpening your knife
Effervescent and exhilarating, “Calling Card” is ready to take your breath away – pun intended.
Released October 26, 2021 via FADER Label, ella jane’s latest single arrived just a month after the New York native released her electrifying debut EP THIS IS NOT WHAT IT LOOKS LIKE!, praised as “a vulnerable and honest coming-of-age record that leaves no stone unturned and no feeling untapped.” Comparable to (early) Lorde and Alice Merton (both in her dynamic indie pop ethos and in her ability to capture fleeting emotions and special little moments in time), jane emerged over the past year as a euphoric force ready to arrest our ears and channel our innermost feelings outward.
One of Atwood Magazine‘s 2022 artists to watch, ella jane is most definitely a star on the rise – and if THIS IS NOT WHAT IT LOOKS LIKE! didn’t prove it, then certainly “Calling Card” does. Blending lived experience with personal interests, jane weaves listeners through a story of seduction and suspense. A charmingly buoyant, feel-good verse bubbles over into a radiant chorus and post-chorus cheer as the artist rises to meet a moment of curiosity and lethal excitement:
what’s your calling card, killer>
sell me pretty lies with your silver tongue
got me in your jean pocket
something’s telling me i’m not the only one
sophie said to call the cops
you shaved your head and bought a fake ID, then
i heard a scream from down the block
bloodstains in places where they shouldn’t be
“‘Calling Card’ was inspired by three things, respectively,” jane tells Atwood Magazine. “The Quentin Tarantino film Once Upon a Time in Hollywood (2019), the serial killer unit in my high school forensics class (2020), and a boy who led me on during my freshman year of college (2021). The movie sparked within me an unnerving (though far from uncommon) fascination with serial killers… The careful romanticization not of the tragedy itself, but the circumstances surrounding it, captivated me.”
“In my forensic science class, I learned what a “calling card” is in criminology: It’s a specific object deliberately left behind on at the scene of each murder, essentially acting as the killer’s signature. That’s when that hook (“what’s your calling card, killer?”) came to me so vividly as I sat at my desk, the lyrics and bass line bouncing around my head on repeat.”
Produced by Wyatt Bernard and Austin Corona (Lizzy McAlpine, UPSAHL), “Calling Card” seems to grab its musical inspiration not only from the alt-pop sphere, but also from the pop/rock of the early and late aughts: Jane employs wily guitar riffs (whose melodies are then mimicked in the vocals) alongside tight, driving drums to create an insatiable mood that is as warm and frisky as it is sun-kissed and carefree. Add to this jane’s clever wordplay and lyrical acrobatics – she herself clearly had some fun here – and you’ve got a song ready for repeat listens.
i got a problem
i’m hooked on you like nicotine
i couldn’t quit you if i tried
where you go, i follow
so you lead me to the murder scene
and i know you’re sharpening your, i know you’re sharpening your
With a steadily growing bucket of bangers at the ready, ella jane has already proven herself someone worth keeping a close eye on – and as the year has just begun, it feels like anything is possible. Will 2022 deliver another EP, a debut album, or a tour? We can’t wait to find out; until then, we’ll be join us and surrender to the dynamic reverie of “Calling Card.”
what’s your calling card, killer?
sell me pretty lies with your silver tongue
got me in your jean pocket
something’s telling me i’m not the only one
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Stream: “Calling Card” – ella jane
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