This Feeling: Self-Growth And Self-Acceptance With Babe Club

“Remembering where you're coming from, remember the reason behind why you're doing what you're doing...”

“On the very last session we did for the EP we worked until 5am, and we both had work the next day!” Sometimes – as Babe Club lead guitarist and keyboardist Corey Campbell puts out – there’s a not-so-glamorous side to recording an EP.

Consisting of singer-songwriter and frontwoman Jenna Desmond and Corey Campbell, Babe Club are a new wave / indie pop duo from Charleston, North Carolina. Their sound is a potent blend of influences from Wolf Alice, Sorry, and pinch of Sonic Youth.

Out now, the band’s debut EP boasts a five-strong tracklisting of melodic and dream-like indie cuts. Chatting amiably to Clash, Babe Club open up about working with Grouplove’s Dan Gleason, self-growth, and a potential album to look forward to in 2021.

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In 2018 Babe Club released their first single, ‘Hate Myself,’ a grungy, transparent ode to the troubles of battling the constant punishment of self-doubt. Around that stage of their career the band were touring with American indie rockers Susto and so didn’t spend too much time on their own material, as Corey explains: “we were mostly devoted to that and writing songs on the side.”

Whilst Babe Club’s first ever release was in 2018, the band had “started writing for this project four years ago,” adds Jenna. Now the band are working on their own project; Babe Club are a special endeavour manifested by just two people – with the occasional help of Meg HA who works with the group for their live shows and creative visuals, such as their music videos.

‘Remember This Feeling’ is a concoction of five romantic indie tunes that swirl you through alt-rock tendencies, into their preferred indie pop. Corey details Babe Club’s influences, commenting that “our sound in 2016 was very guitar-driven, but at the same time we’re both really into our indie pop. Jenna is really into Arcade Fire and I’m really into Vampire Weekend, Always, Grouplove etc.” – Jenna comments that “growing up I really liked PIXIES. Corey and I really like bands that have a strong orchestral composition, but I also really like the moody song writing style.”

Moulded with the help of Dan Gleason, ‘Remember This Feeling’ is a physical copy of the early stages and progression of Babe Club’s foot into the music industry. Jenna tells us, “we started recording ‘Remember This Feeling’ in a storage unit before getting the opportunity to record in a studio in Atlanta, which is about five hours from where we live.”

Having spent the first year on this EP on their own terms, and freestyling the process, it’s fair to say the group really bagged themselves a good deal and weren’t going to make that five hour journey an obstacle to getting this beautiful EP out the bag. Corey speaks to us about how working with Gleason has been an inspiring experience for the band, he says. “One cool aspect of working with Gleason is that we went from doing DIY recordings, to then working alongside someone who's got experience in this field. To work with someone who has worked in a professional environment has really been an evolution – we've been able to receive that musical wisdom and grow patience into our own project.”

Having worked with producers and sound engineers on the EP, in the words of Corey the group have been able to leave the technical side of things aside and allow themselves to just, “be the artist.” Jenna adds: “it’s been an opportunity for us to have fun while recording.”

‘Remember This Feeling’ is a snippet of what to expect in the future from Babe Club – it’s summery, it’s hopeful, it’s joyous. It’s like an open letter, a glimpse into the beginnings of Babe Club, but to them, – as Corey points out – it’s harnessing the importance of “remembering where you're coming from, remember the reason behind why you're doing what you're doing.” It’s easy to start journeys you might not finish, or to forget why you started them in the first place. Remember This Feeling encapsulates the motto of taking things day by day, Corey polishes off, “that way you can remember your core and the basis of your emotional being.”

And what a more relevant time to have a message like this than right now? Where the world has seen and felt the effects of a global pandemic take the lives of thousands, and hugely dented the music industry’s main source of income; live music venues. At this point, it’s almost hard to believe the group wrote this EP and title ahead of the pandemic, because this message couldn’t be more relevant.

Similarly, to a few bands this year, the pandemic has put a slight halt to Babe Club’s plans for not only live music but also the release of ‘Remember This Feeling’. Corey goes into a bit more depth on the process of getting this released, “we actually finished this EP in May 2019, and so had planned on releasing it a year ago. But things pop up and by the time we had tidied it up and were ready for release at the start of this year the pandemic hit.”

Jenna continues: “I think one positive thing is that we're grateful that we are just starting out – we haven't been too set back in terms of the efforts we've put in. Doing interviews like this has been so cool and special to us as these are our only moments to interact with people who have listened to the EP and who are music lovers.”

Whilst the pandemic has been a bit of a buzz kill on this year, it’s not completely stopped Babe Club in their tracks. 2020 witnesses the band’s first EP, and a flurry of richly deserved attention. Corey whispers, “we want to start dropping singles next year and use those as releases for our album.”

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‘Remember This Feeling’ is out now.

Words: Laviea Thomas

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