JATK is ‘Never Gonna Be Your Girl, Friend’
Out March 4, the latest single from Matt Jatkola’s eclectic project flows with synth-pop confidence and lyrical androgyny
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OUT NOW: Listen to the ‘Never Gonna Be Your Girl, Friend’ maxi-single on Bandcamp
JATK’s debut album ‘Shut Up and Be the Light’ set for April 15 release
BOSTON, MASS. [March 4, 2022] -- Like an impassioned love affair, JATK’s new single “Never Gonna Be Your Girl, Friend” instantly grabs hold and never lets go. And like most impassioned love affairs, things very quickly get a bit more complicated under the surface. The latest maxi-single from the eclectic power-pop project from Boston multi-instrumentalist, songwriter, and producer Matt Jatkola hits the streams on Friday, March, 4, and it and all of it’s hyperactive glory serves as the sixth and final single from JATK’s forthcoming debut album Shut Up and Be the Light.
Musically, the upbeat and infectious “Never Gonna Be Your Girl, Friend” calls on sonic inspiration from The Rentals, that dog., Tegan & Sara, Devo, and The Cars, as well as Jatkola’s previous band, The Bynars. But underneath squealing synths and power-pop hooks is a fun, but delicate, subject matter. “In its simplest form, ‘Never Gonna Be Your Girl, Friend’ is about a person who feels like they will never be the right partner because of their gender,” says Jatkola. “The lyrics play with ideas around gender, masculine and feminine language, and the fluidity of it all. A step further, the masculine and feminine articles in the song are designed to be easily changed, swapped, modified, omitted or otherwise reinterpreted.”
To further illustrate the fluid nature of the song, Jatkola reached out to friends and colleagues who explore queerness and identity in their own work to reimagine the song themselves. These aren’t b-sides, per se, but reimagined versions of the song that give it the layered focus it was originally intended to have. In addition to JATK’s version, the "Never Gonna Be Your Girl, Friend" maxi-single features added perspectives by Arizona-based synth pop wizard Weston Smith; Philadelphia-based queer musician and poet Anika Pyle; and Lowell-based electronic music producer and DJ Sawtooth. All proceeds from the March 4 Bandcamp Friday release will benefit the Transgender Law Center.
“I never wanted to sing this song,” Jatkola admits. “It's really supposed to be sung from a more female perspective. I wrote it imagining I was a woman or female-identifying person. I performed it live many times with FBGM (my genderless/genreless duo with D. Orxata) and we discussed and toyed with the song at length. It was only through that process and D. simply telling me, ‘You should just sing this’ that I relented and settled into my own version. I realized it's a song not from one perspective but from every perspective. You can change the pronouns and masculine/feminine language because they're not integral to the song or rhyme scheme. Or you can leave them as they are and just be a woman singing, ‘I want to be your man,’ like on Anika's version. It all works. That's the point.”
There's a portion of "Never Gonna Be Your Girl, Friend” that is about understanding that which is often misunderstood, and that is a central theme of Shut Up and Be the Light, set for release digitally and CD on April 15, with vinyl issues to follow shortly after (pre-order for all three formats is now open exclusively via JATK’s Bandcamp, with free merch supplied with every order).
JATK has released five singles from the 12-track LP so far, starting with last April’s raucous guitar-rock rager “When Tomorrow Comes,” the first time Jatkola opened up about his cancer journey that began a year prior with his Hodgkin’s Lymphoma diagnosis. In the time since, armed with a clean bill of health after chemo and radiation treatment therapy, and inspired to write songs related to both his recovery and a crazy world around him, JATK has displayed a songwriting acumen that has run a spectrum of genres, from heartfelt Americana (“Conscious Wonder”) to jangly power-pop (“Japanese Butterfly”) to hymnal-like dream-pop (“Ride The Wind”).
In January, he even leaned into Prince-inspired R&B territory with “Don’t Call.” But with “Never Gonna Be Your Girl, Friend,” which was mixed by Adam Taylor and features drums by Seth Botos (Lesser Glow, Gozu), Jatkola is taking pieces of his past (notably, the synth-pop prowess of The Bynars) and combining it with a diverse pop present. He calls working on the synth aspects of “Never Gonna Be Your Girl, Friend” a “joyful experience,” and the track’s extended outro serves as an exploration of its electronic-pop layers, slowly stripping down to basics as it fades away.
“‘Never Gonna Be Your Girl, Friend’ is quintessential to Shut Up and Be the Light because it doesn't conform to what came before it (it doesn't sound like previous singles) or what will come after it (the album as a whole),” Jatkola admits. “It stands alone but also magically works in context. There's also an element of fun in this song musically – and lyrically too. It's playful. I'd equate it with the album as a whole. There are heavy moments, but plenty of lighter moments too, and overall I hope the takeaway is that the album is a celebration of all of those moments at once.”
Contact michael@publisist.co or jatktheband@gmail.com for more information.
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‘Never Gonna Be Your Girl, Friend’ single art:
Art Credit: Niki Fandel
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‘Never Gonna Be Your Girl, Friend’ maxi-single contributors:
»» Weston Smith
Weston Smith invites you to take a journey through his fabricated synth world. Weston is an Arizona-based synth pop wizard with a love for experimentation and dungeon exploration.
JATK says: “I've played a few shows with Weston while on tour with FBGM when he was based in DC. His version is a synth-y saxophone-laden slow crawl through the darker side of ‘Girl, Friend.’ It's unique in that it's a cover, not a remix, produced in full by Wes.”
»» Anika Pyle
A Queer dreamer born in the Colorado prairie to working class parents, I learned the world with an impossibly tender heart, a kinship with nature's splendor, and a keen grasp of class politics. Many know me as the front person in the short-lived but well-loved Chumped or the feminine exploration power pop project katie ellen. In February 2021, I released my first solo record, Wild River, a mix of song and spoken word poetry paying homage to my late father who died suddenly in 2019. The record explores failure, shame, resilience, intergenerational trauma, and how to find hope after grief.
JATK says: “I did a remix for her band katie ellen and I recorded/covered one of their songs on my own too. We've been collaborating on some music long-distance, including co-producing this version of ‘Never Gonna Be Your Girl, Friend’ and additional vocals on one other song on Shut Up and Be the Light called ‘Gas Station.’ Her version of ‘Never Gonna Be Your Girl, Friend’ is a remix with completely re-recorded and reimagined vocals.”
»» Sawtooth
Sawtooth is an electronic music producer/DJ who has been spinning industrial, dark-dance, and video game remix music for clubs and parties since 2013, bringing foot-stomping mechanical beats and rhythms to the underground scene. As a DJ, Sawtooth has cut a swath of hard-hitting tunes all across New England, headlining events in Massachusetts (including opening the 25th Convergence Festival in 2019), New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Maine, as well as opening events for touring DJs and artists like Hocico, Panic Lift, The Gothsicles, Interface, Jay Aston's Gene Loves Jezebel, Digital Gnosis, Nevada Hardware, Metamorph, End: The DJ, Kors K, Remo-Con, DJ Venom, and various others. As a producer, Sawtooth is an in-house DJ for the New England-based events collective System Arcadia, and has produced official remixes for international artists like MOЯIS BLAK, grabyourface, Klack, Lorelei Dreaming, Metroland, Flesh Eating Foundation, Big Time Kill, Damsel In The Dollhouse, Snowbeasts, Transdusk, and many more.
JATK says: “Sawtooth did a kickass remix of a Bynars song way back, which I still regard as the superior version of the song. This version of ‘Never Gonna Be Your Girl, Friend’ is an upbeat, quirky, made for club speakers remix that brings a really unique perspective to the song.
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JATK short bio:
JATK (pronounced “Jack”), the power-pop project from Boston-based songwriter Matt Jatkola and his circle of collaborators, cranks up an arsenal of hooks and riffs with affecting jolts of guitar-rock reflected through his knack for pop melody. With the release of six eclectic singles between 2021 and 2022, the debut full-length album Shut Up And Be The Light is set for release on April 15.
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‘Never Gonna Be Your Girl, Friend’ lyrics:
Never gonna be your girl, friend
Girlfriend is a word
That I very seldom heard
So I split it into two
Cause I’m not that into you
Boyfriend is a guy
Who's mysterious and shy
But it's never gonna do
Cause I'm more of that than you
Never gonna be your girl, friend
I thought you were the one
Why can't love just be for fun?
Will you love me til the end?
But platonic as a friend
Sorry you won't do
I have complicated views
Want me to be your girl
But I want to be your man
Never gonna be your girl, friend
People gonna frown
When I turn it upside down
Am I confounding?
I think I'm gonna cry
I don't know the reason why
Misunderstanding
Misunderstanding me
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‘Never Gonna Be Your Girl, Friend’ credits:
Matt Jatkola: Vocals, guitar, bass, synthesizers, vocoder, programming
Seth Botos: Drums
Recorded by Matt Jatkola at Peace & Love Laboratories in Arlington, MA; Seth Botos at Studio 52 in Allston, MA
Mixed by Adam Taylor at Bang-A-Song Studios in Gloucester, MA
Mastered by Nick Zampiello at New Alliance East in Somerville, MA
Produced by Matt Jatkola
Cover photography by Niki Fandel
Alternate covers & design by Matt Jatkola
Written by Matt Jatkola
© & ℗ 2022, 2 STEP IZ DED (ASCAP)
Weston Smith version
Weston Smith: Vocals, synthesizers, drum programming, saxophone
Produced, recorded, and mixed by Weston Smith
Anika Pyle version
Anika Pyle: Vocals
Produced and recorded by Anika Pyle and Matt Jatkola
Mixed by Matt Jatkola
Utilizes elements of the original recording
Sawtooth version
Produced, recorded, and mixed by Sawtooth
Utilizes elements of the original recording
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The music of JATK has been heard and featured on:
The Rodney Bingenheimer Show on SiriusXM, The Honey Pop, Real Gone Rocks, idobi Radio, UncertainFM, The River 92.5 FM (Boston, MA), If It’s Too Loud, Citywide Blackout, BumbleBee Radio, WZBC’s Virtual Detention, Mark Skin Radio (Christian’s Cosmic Corner, Original Music Showcase, Marc’s Alt-Rock Playground), Your First Listen on KNNZ 89.1 FM, Sweet Sunday Sounds on Banks Radio (Australia), Garagerocktopia with Robert Kreutzer, POP! The Beat Bubble Burst on KDHX, Boston Emissions with Anngelle Wood, WMBR (The Paradox Box), WMFO Tufts University (Rising with Skybar and On The Town with Mikey D), Everything You Know Is Wrong on WMWM Salem State, Bay State Rock, Tinnitist, Lonely Oak Radio, The Menace’s House of Indies, Nova Southeastern University’s Radio X, WODU Old Dominion University, Blood Makes Noise, Ricky’s Daily Bangers, and other fine radio stations, outlets, and programs.
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Media praise for JATK:
“The performer casts aside his usual Smashing Pumpkins, Cure, and Slovedive chops, opting for something completely different [with 'Don't Call']. So different, in fact, that you'd never recognize it as JATK at all... As homage to the much missed Prince and some of his more wayward pop experiments, it's pretty much perfect... via a mix of sheer balls and melodic ear, JATK serves a winner with this left field offering.” _Real Gone Rocks
“There's a garage rock jangle and an indie rock vibrancy to the song, all framing some surprisingly delicate songwriting... In short, the song's a brisk, uplifting joy.” _Worcester Magazine
“Such poppy magic” _Boston Emissions
“‘Japanese Butterfly’ is a burst of mid-’90s style power pop with some T-Rex style glam thrown in. It's all buzzy guitars swirling with some of the catchiest vocals around... [it's] one of the most positive songs about cancer out there."_If It’s Too Loud
"Opening with a wall of feedback... the song announces its arrival with a dark undertone, but barely thirty seconds in, its thinly disguised sunny alt-pop melody calls out with real confidence, while Matt's distorted guitar cranks through the riffs as if it's 1993 and he's an aspiring Bob Mould." _Real Gone Rocks
“The guitar riffs sound straight out of a Dinosaur Jr. or Superdrag track from the ‘90s. On this maxi-single the great guitar work is even more apparent on the instrumental version. I don’t usually give grades or bullshit like that but this gets an A in my book, this student of music was paying attention in class.” _Blood Makes Noise
“The track’s constant battle between fuzz and melody combined with an optimistic outlook deserves to bring JATK new fans.” _Real Gone Rocks
"’When Tomorrow Comes’ is a fresh blast of indie rock/power-pop... that hits you with ferocity, yet also brings vocals filled with melodies that are super catchy and lyrically relevant. [It’s] a killer rock song for us to sing along with, as endearing and contemplative as it is simply rocking.” _Rebel Noise
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Media contact and all press/radio inquiries: michael@publisist.co or jatktheband@gmail.com
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