“Learn The Lie” from Jeni Schapire

Backed by a tearing, industrial electro pop grid with bursting light, the new single “Learn The Lie” from Jeni Schapire shows us why this smoky-toned singer is turning heads. The inviting, quirky music bed channels the rich character in her voice, and sends the listener into a wave of pop/rock/alt indie fever. “Learn The Lie” can take on different meanings for different listeners, but one thing is true – Schapire has a surefire hit.

URL: https://www.jenischapire.com/

Schapire, who grew up in Princeton, New Jersey, is now based in Nashville, Tennessee. She sings very conversationally, but still belts out in several octaves. She has a boldness to her voice. She reminds me of a combination of Florence Welch (Florence and the Machine) and Christina Perri (“Jar Of Hearts”). Her voice has a circular swirl happening, all the while she’s moving the song forward. It’s rapturous. We’re miles apart, it doesn’t do any good, she sings. Her emotional range is lamenting, really getting something off her chest. She’s not at the end of her rope, but the strings are really stretching, and she’s near the end. At times she collides the words and they murmur, an added texture to the already murky (at times) music bedrock. She loops some of her vocals, folding into the motion. It’s a modern rhythm. I suppose if the music were in a movie, it would be a dystopian one, with uncertainties and shards of hope striking through the barriers. Schapire’s voice has this quiet, burn that never seems lose its embers.

The lines if I’m just a voice and words on a page, really struck me, too. She’s seems to have whittled down the existence of this relationship. While it’s heart wrenching and stirring, there’s also a sense of empowerment in her delivery. Perhaps the music bed is the bottled up emotions, the jarring and tearing of the roller coaster ride. She’s not just giving into the pain, the turmoil. She’s toying with the future. One interpretation of this song is that Shapfire is learning to lie to herself. She’s just accepted certain things and trying to come to grips with, maybe the changed realities she presents. My mind drifted into a few different areas when Schapire sings; her voice is hauntingly beautiful and a siren in the night. That sweet escape is scattered into the other side of things to – she’s learned to read through the lines of a love letter. She’s not buying the words that have been written. The more you listen to the track, the more the dominoes fall in a way that resonate more personally. What lies do we tell ourselves? What do we shield from others?

“Learn The Lie” is from Schapire’s debut album, What’s In A Name. The album title is derived from Schapire’s earlier recordings under her stage name, Jennifer Rae. This is her way of putting her own self forward, and stepping into her own artistry. Her journey in “Learn The Lie” is intriguing and memorable and receives top kudos.

Nicole Killian