“Her name was Jolly Good for a day or two. When she left to ramble on, you didn’t know what to do,” Julian Rybarski sings in the latest single released under his own name. “Jolly Good” tells the tale of freedom, or lack thereof, when you can’t let someone go.
The music video, a punchy mashup of Saul Bass’s cut-out style and Maurice Binder’s silhouette work for James Bond, bounces through the story partnering instruments with their narrative moments.
Manuel Blase’s electric bass and Matthias Plewka’s percussion move the bar-long, sustained chords from Hendrik Freund’s trumpet, René Lankeit’s saxophone, and Marc Lankeit’s trombone. The combination creates a retro beat with a modern vibe. Dancing on top of that base, Mario Stork sprinkles piano chords that further build out a film noir feeling.
But it’s all grounded in the sultry tale of misery. “Jolly Good never keeps promises. But sadly, you always do,” the chorus goes. The velvety melodies catch at all the right places, tearing into you. True freedom only comes from yourself. Sometimes you need to let someone go, even when you think you can’t.
Watch “Jolly Good” below.
Ben is an advertising Madman who spends his days with words and music. When he’s not writing for his supper, he’s eating it at some of NYC’s most interesting restaurants.
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