Photo by Jorge Sanhueza-Lyon/KUTX
A good pop song works no matter how you play it. You can button it up with bells and whistles or strip it down to its component parts, and the essential goodness will still translate. Sisters Jennifer and Jessica Clavin, the duo behind Bleached, stepped backstage at Fun Fun Fun Fest this weekend to perform a couple of tunes for us. They picked up acoustics, and stripped away the buzzy pop-punk they’re known for, leaving bare the great pop songwriters they are.
The Clavin sisters played in their share of bands, including the fun and very punky Mika Miko. That band called it quits in 2009, and Jennifer and Jessica parted ways, band-wise, for a spell, although they never stopped making tunes together. Jennifer played with Cold Cave for a bit, and Jessica joined up with Cold Showers. The pair reunited to form Bleached, and in 2011 released their first single, “Francis.” That same year they issued the “Searching Through the Past” single. The song would eventually land on Bleached’s full-length debut, Ride Your Heart, which came out earlier this year. They also performed the tune for us behind the scenes this weekend at Fun Fun Fun Fest 2013. Joined by live Bleached members Jonathan Safley and Micayla Grace, the sisters Clavin take the punchy, almost Ramones-y, studio track down to its bones. The hooks could catch a marlin, and its got a stomp that begs head bobbin’. Take away the electric guitars and all the rock band trappings, you’re still left with a fun, sweet pop song.
