Toronto-based singer/songwriter and producer Jenny Palacios blends emo, alternative and pop influences to nestle into a pocket of music running on melancholia and nostalgic emotion. Together with Phoenix Arn-Horn of Courage My Love and current grunge project, Softcult, Palacios has been writing and co-producing a string of dark indie pop singles that explore the sonic line between modern synth-pop and a reminiscent alternative sound.
“Clean Break” is the sequel to a song that Palacios released earlier in 2021, “Convenient.” Where that song listed the reasons to leave a relationship she didn’t belong in, “Clean Break” came out of the uncharted territories of the aftermath of leaving – she wondered, “Is it too soon to catch up? What memories can I revisit and come out unaffected? And ultimately, if I’m still asking these questions, am I just plain not over it?”
Instead of trying to salvage what’s left and hold out for hope, sometimes it’s best to stop kidding yourself and just make a clean break.
“I wrote this song right after a facetime call where at the end of it, I just had this sinking feeling in my gut,” explains Palacios. “I was still hoping that they’d change their mind on a Wednesday night, months after we’d called things off. When that obviously didn’t happen, I was ugly crying to all of Taylor Swift and Michelle Branch’s discography, looking for something to remedy how I felt. I couldn’t find anything saying ‘Seriously? Get up, dust off and go back to moving on, you’re going to be okay.’ So I wrote it all out. To Michelle Branch chord progressions.”