Toronto’s jackie Release Hooky New Single “Perfume”
Toronto-based three-piece jackie have released a hooky new single and video for the track “Perfume” from their upcoming EP Lucky Love to be released later this year. With its blend of indie rock authenticity and pop appeal, “Perfume” captures the essence of longing and nostalgia, evoking vivid imagery and emotions. It’s a song that feels both timeless and contemporary, a testament to jackie’s ability to bridge musical genres and eras.
Filmed by RNBWLAND Productions at the Pearson Community Centre in Las Vegas, the video for “Perfume” is choreographed by Brenda Dailey and features performers Terry Mikula, Alfreda Gibson, Edith Hick, Lorraine Jacintho, Bonnie Morris and Brenda Dailey, more famously known as the LadyB Soulful Line Dancers.
Coming off the heels of an unprocessed, ‘mess you up for good’ kind of breakup Jackie Mohr was filled with uncertainty and ideas, eager to start writing the band’s follow-up to Hey Angel. Sure, sadness was the undertone, but newfound confidence took hold, marking the evolution of the band’s new EP.
Producer Sam Jackson Willows (Ruby Waters, The Beaches) was taking over a new studio space in Oakwood, ON – the former studio of longtime vocal engineer for Justin Bieber, Josh Gudwin. The band was determined to outdo their last writing session. The studio space was unassuming, located in the basement of a jazz musician’s house, but it was filled with promise.
The focus was on creating timeless melodies and clever compositions while merging their sound with that of their debut release, “New at Drugs”. Mixed and mastered to perfection by Al-P (MSTRKRFT) and Kristian Montano (Montano Mastering), “Perfume” is the first of six singles from Lucky Love.
As Mohr shares,
“Nearing the end of our writing sessions, we were still missing our guitar-driven song. We needed ear candy, something sexy to round out the EP. It’s harder than you think to write a simple but powerful riff that really sticks with the listener, but once we found it, everything else came easy. I wrote ‘I was high on perfume…’ while thinking of a woman I’d recently met who left the most intoxicating scent on my pillow. Between the vibe of Marc’s riff and the laid-back energy in the studio that day, the song just flowed. The verse became the chorus, melodies blended, and instinct took over. ‘Perfume’ came together fast, unlike the others. I was in a ‘mood,’ confident that the song needed to stay in one place to have the most impact—a strength in its modesty. While working on the breakdown, we had some fun recording a shopping bag filled with various percussion instruments being tossed in the air and falling to the ground, which ultimately led to an ode to The Rolling Stones’ sound. Get lost in the rhythm and get high on ‘Perfume.’”
Fronted by the wickedly talented and charismatic vocalist and guitarist Jackie Mohr, the band’s line-up is completed by longtime friends and bandmates Max Trefler on drums and Marc Girardin on guitar. Inspired by the most classic of songwriters, the band expertly crafts music that would happily lie alongside Courtney Barnett, Sharon Van Etten, and Bruce Springsteen in a playlist. If you want to get to know jackie the band, you’ll likely want to start with Jackie Mohr. Influenced by the often below-freezing streets of Winnipeg and its thriving underground music scene, she started her first band at age 16.
Needless to say, her passion for performing and writing didn’t end after high-school. Skip ahead to 2012, Jackie and then-and-now bandmate Marc Girardin relocated to Toronto to work with some of Canada’s most eccentric and exciting producers. Once Max Trefler entered the picture there was no looking back. The three had something special, and it was easy to see when they performed live together, garnering them a SiriusXM “Emerging Artist of the Year” nod in 2015.
Mohr has an impressive performance history outside of her own musical projects. She served as the lead guitarist for Hawksley Workman from 2013 to 2017, VAG HALEN from 2012 to 2015, and most recently, in 2019, toured as the lead guitarist for JJ Wilde.
jackie’s debut EP New At Drugs was released in 2020, racking over 3 million streams on Spotify alone, with the song “Unspun” making it into the Top 40 at Canadian Radio. These days, jackie is focusing their time and attention on making and releasing as much music as possible.