Acclaimed songwriter Laura Jean has announced her sixth album, Amateurs, to be released on Friday, 4th November. Following on from her 2018 record, Devotion, Laura Jean’s new record sees the artist looking inward and presenting some of her most honest material to date.
From Amateurs, Laura Jean has shared the new single, ‘Teenager Again’, a collaboration with Aldous Harding and Marlon Williams. The New Zealanders appear as backing vocalists on the track, the first of two Amateurs songs Harding and Williams will be heard on.
Laura Jean – ‘Teenager Again’
The music video features ’90s footage of Laura and her younger sister, Erica, and was edited by Phoebe Taylor (Boy & Bear). Inspiration for the ‘Teenager Again’ video stemmed from a challenge Laura was set by her then aunt-in-law, esteemed filmmaker Jane Campion.
“When we were teenagers my sister, her best friend Mark Bradshaw and I would borrow the film camera from school,” Jean said in a statement. “We used it as therapy, making earnest abstract films that tried to represent what was going on in our heads.
“Sometimes, our uncle’s wife at the time, the film director Jane Campion, would give us film challenges. Some of the footage is a result of her challenge to make a film portrait of yourself or someone else. I made portraits of Erica.”
Of ‘Teenager Again’, the artist said that the single has been in the works for some time. “I made up the backing vocal parts walking around a park with my dog,” Jean said. “I think that was when I knew the song was ready. It’s wonderful to hear those parts now sung by Hannah [Harding] and Marlon.
“The song is about some of the things I tried as a teenager to heal my panic disorder. This included seeing a psychic, completing a Reiki course, going on Lite ‘n’ Easy to try and lose weight, and many other acts of desperation. Nothing worked, but I’m OK.”
Amateurs is out Friday, 4th November via Chapter Music.
Further Reading
Marlon Williams Details New Album ‘My Boy’, Shares New Single
Aldous Harding Announces October 2022 Australian Tour
Watch Lorde Cover Bruce Springsteen On Stage With Marlon Williams
