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- July 16, 2022
Jacob Turnbloom Releases “Balboa Park,” Trading In The Sadness For “Zoo Animals and Food”
SoCal based musician, Jacob Turnbloom, has been the spokesperson for happy songs with depressing lyrics for almost two decades. But his new single “Balboa Park” proves that sometimes perception is incredibly blissful. Throughout his divergent career, Turnbloom has made music his diary, displaying his authenticity as lead vocalist and guitarist in the garage-punk band, Mrs. Magician. His development as an artist can be heard among the transition into his solo career–a once addictively abstract, bleary-eyed guitar plunge, with fits of anger among the tides, transformed into a soft grunge with a deep bounce in his voice.
While instrumentally pulling away from his previous musicality, Turnbloom kept his dismal outlook in his back pocket for the 2019 release of his debut solo album, Cemetery Luau. While some tracks ponder the beauty of the sunny coast, many still tiptoe around the crippling inner-demons in Turnbloom’s mind. As 2020 struck its evil hand, it seemed that gloom was the new normal, and Turnbloom felt it was time for a change of scenery.
“Balboa Park,” along with an entire album was written and recorded in the crevice of his tiny apartment. Head first, he descended into this process of writing and producing from the scribbles on a note pad to the completion of a project. From the ethereal Beach Boys-esque harmonies to the call and response of his piercingly thin guitar, everything you hear in “Balboa Park” is inimitably his own and it is unlike anything he’s done before.
“I’ve written 4 albums worth of depressing, cynical, self deprecating, introspective crap” he says, “I wanna write songs about falling in love and eating ice cream. This one’s about food and zoo animals.” As displayed in the music video, this song is just that. Dressed up as “Where’s Waldo” Turnbloom takes us through the attractions of his hometown in San Diego, paying homage to the birthplace of surf rock. As the video progresses the lyrics follow his steps and paint a lovely story of innocent love.
“Trying out the daylight, Balboa Park and The Zoo. The elephants were all counting sheep, the lions weren’t making a peep, and we both fell asleep, I can’t stop smiling,” is pitched high and low on its own and fuses euphorically, much like the rest of the track. Amid the simple narrative emerges his springy reverb, mimicking the lines without uttering a word, as if inviting you to add your own verse. It is beautiful and relieving all at once and reminds us of life’s exciting and simple pleasures. As Turnbloom continues his music career, we hope his optimism finds a permanent place in his evolution.
Listen to “Balboa Park” here, now available on all streaming platforms!
