Jess Cornelius Finds Home Away from Home on New Single and Video “Back to the Mainland”

LA-based singer-songwriter Jess Cornelius readies for her US tour, which kicks off in LA at Scribble on June 14, by heading “Back to the Mainland” in a new video and single off her sophomore album CARE/TAKING out June 14 via her new home at Tender Loving Empire Records. Consistent with the song’s title, Cornelius, raised in New Zealand, released her 2020 album Distance shortly after moving to LA for the first time.

While Distance explored the emotions involved with the major move, “Back to the Mainland” tackles her experiences head-on in a track that happens to be a standout of the album in Cornelius’ eyes.

“‘Back to the Mainland’ is my favorite song on the album, I think because of the territory it covers both sonically and emotionally,” said Cornelius. “In the beginning I’m playing fingerpicked nylon string guitar, then gradually the kick drum and these beautiful ‘disco’ Mellotron strings and vocal harmonies come in, and then it kind of takes off into this full-blown fuzz bass, guitar, synth and drum outro.”

Employing Sufjan Stevens-esque vocals, Cornelius calls from a lush void of fluttering synths and articulates every word that cuts through the gentle guitar playing. Gradually rolling drums underline an apparent build-up to a roaring second half, uplifted by a fuzzy bass as Cornelius ups the intensity in her voice. Although the song begins in a soft headspace, the indie rock outro encapsulates the range of feelings that went into the album at large.

Directed and edited by Cornelius, the music video finds her running through the hills of L.A. in a silver morph suit while scenes of dancers are cut in between. The DIY look of everything is charming, making the track more intimate than it already was while showing how far Cornelius has come. She might not be independent anymore, but the approach to the video serves as a callback to her roots, fitting for a song about redefining one’s definition of home. A similar style and feel was used in her previous single/video, “People Move On.”

Before work on the album started, multi-instrumentalist/producer Mikal Cronin and Cornelius took 20 demos and streamlined them into the CARE/TAKING tracklist. Rounding up their three-person team with the help of drummer Steven Urgo, they managed to use a wide array of instruments, from synths to saxophones. The mini-orchestra matches the emotions found within the lyrics and the shifts Cornelius went through in her personal life, which included having a child.

“What that did is it made me think about death more than I have in my entire life. A lot of the songs are about how much I have to lose now and what would that look like,” said Cornelius. “I had access to more self-belief in my life. With age, you get better at seeing what you actually have and be grateful for it. I still write about relationships and their complexities with this weird and dark layer but there’s more of a sense of joy now.”

Words: David Sosa

“Back to the Mainland” from Jess Cornelius’ upcoming album CARE/TAKING is out on streaming services. For more on the new album and tickets to her US tour, including an LA date at Scribble on June 14, follow her on Instagram, Bandcamp, and her website.

Jess Cornelius US Tour

Fri. June 14 – Los Angeles, CA @ Scribble
Thu. July 11 – Sacramento, CA @ Starlet Room
Fri. July 12 – San Francisco, CA @ Kilowatt
Sat. July 13 – Santa Cruz, CA @ Crepe Place
Thurs. July 18 – Seattle, WA @ Barboza
Sat. July 20 – Portland, OR @ The Showdown
Sun. July 21- Vancouver BC @ Wise Hall
Thu. Aug 8 – New York, NY @ TV Eye
Fri. Aug 9 – Northampton, MA @ The Iron Horse
Sat. Aug 10 – Philadelphia, PA @ MilkBoy Philly
Sun. Aug 11 – Baltimore, MD @ OttoBar
Mon. Aug 12 – Hamden, CT @ Space Ballroom