Music / Premieres
Video Premiere:
Fragile Animals - Waiting
Words by Conor Lochrie
Thursday 5th December, 2019
Following the release of ‘Waiting’, a throwback to 90’s melancholic alternative-rock, Sunshine Coast trio Fragile Animals are back with a nostalgic clip to match the new single.
The band may be called Fragile Animals but it’s struggling people that are on frontwoman Victoria Jenkins’ mind. She wrote the track in the small hours of the morning after a long and arduous day of working and performing.

“So many of the people I worked with that day, as well as the friends I caught up with that night were seriously struggling with their mental health and things going on in their lives.” Victoria explained. “It just felt so messed up. How have we created a society where so many of us are legitimately not coping?! For me this song lyrically carries the weight of all of that but was also me looking in the mirror genuinely wondering if I was okay.”

‘Waiting’ then, acts as a vital piece of self-reflexive art for the singer, yet the song resonates further. As Victoria repeats the refrain “you look broken like everyone I know”, it’s easy to be reminded of the recent healthcare cuts and mounting misery affecting our generation.

Despite the mood being relatively low, Fragile Animals’ performance is as dynamic as ever. The instrumentation is tight and precise, the dreamgaze texture perfectly aligned. ‘Waiting’ was also recorded with ARIA-nominated Dylan Adams, past producer of bands like DMA’s and Skeggs, which clearly helped create the thick textured soundscape we hear.

Unashamedly a shoegaze band, Fragile Animals don’t shy away from the influence of the genre’s behemoth My Bloody Valentine - just in case the listener missed the obvious stylistic connection, the band titled their 2017 EP Only Shallow/Only More, a nod to MBV’s ‘Only Shallow’ from the seminal Loveless. Jenkins, however, does well (and probably purposefully) to carry her voice above the guitar feedback, unlike the distinct challenge that was trying to decipher the lyrics in a song that Bilinda Butcher was muttering.

‘Waiting’ also is suffused with the more moody and emotive singing of the grungier era of alternative rock. In a time when most mainstream music publications seem inextricably mired in their ‘Poptimism’ stage, for better or worse, songs like ‘Waiting’ are a welcome reminder of rock’s virtues; as we enter a new decade, bands like Fragile Animals are here to signal that the spirit of the 1990’s will never dissipate.

Check out the new clip for 'Waiting' above, and follow Fragile Animals on Facebook to find out where you can catch them next.