WESTERN JAGUAR – Single Review: “Repossess”

On By EclecticMusicLoverIn Reviews

Hailing from the Fraser River Valley, east of the cosmopolitan city of Vancouver in beautiful British Columbia, Canada, is Western Jaguar, the music project of singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Jeffrey Trainor. Skillfully blending indie rock, dream pop and shoegaze, he writes songs exploring common themes of life, love, emotional well-being and loss, expressed through poetic, relatable lyrics which he delivers with pleasing low-key vocals. I’ve been following him for nearly six years, and have featured him and his music three times on this blog, most recently in July 2023 when I reviewed his beautiful album Oblivion. Two of his songs, “Disappear” (2019) and “Darling” (2023) have reached #1 on my Top 30 chart.

Trainor formed Western Jaguar in 2012, and since 2013 has released two EPs and four albums as both a solo artist and a band made up of an evolving lineup of musicians. His most recent album, released March 1st, was Ranges: 2013-2023, a sort of greatest hits album containing ten tracks Trainor describes as “a quintessential crash course of the first ten years of Western Jaguar.” Now he’s back with a terrific new single “Repossess“, which will be included on his forthcoming album Vacationland. For the recording of the track, he sang vocals and played guitars, bass, synths and percussion, and fellow musician Ted Kim played drums. Trainor produced and mixed the track, while Ryan Niklas handled mastering.

About “Repossess”, Trainor says it’s “about growing up and the struggles that go along with the pressures of being an adult. It reflects on losing the joys and carefree nature of adolescence, while also bemoaning the constant weight, and pressure adulthood provides. In the end, we all want someone to walk along side us in this life; someone to help “repossess” the joy we once had and lost.”

Musically, the song serves up the signature mellow shoegaze vibes we’ve come to love and expect from Western Jaguar. His intricate guitar work is lovely, with a colorful mix of shimmery strummed notes and edgier riffs layered over a gentle, pulsating bassline and accompanied by Kim’s spirited drums that nicely complement the other instruments without overpowering them. As always, Trainor’s earnest vocals exude a heartfelt vulnerability that’s quite endearing as he laments “Feeling like a jerk in a tropical shell. I can’t keep throwing back pill after pill. I’m swimming to a future, but drowning in my past. I just want to prove that I can make it last.”

This release also includes the brief, one-minute-long track “The Brightest Ray Of Darkness”, which is loosely based on the novel A Bright Ray Of Darkness by Ethan Hawke. Trainor says the song “is a quick foray into the mind of someone who’s head is spinning due to their world falling apart all around them.“

And here are both songs on Bandcamp:

Western Jaguar’s Socials:  Facebook / Twitter / Instagram / TikTok

Find his music on Bandcamp / Spotify / Apple Music / Soundcloud / YouTube

24 thoughts on “WESTERN JAGUAR – Single Review: “Repossess””

    2. Thanks Mister Bump. I don’t think I’m great at writing the “I love you” lyrics. I did it once for a song I wrote about my wife entitled “Darling” but aside from that, I tend to just reflect on life’s darker moments. I find those are the moments that really mould us as humans and allow us to connect most with ourselves and others. This song in particular was more a cry for missing my youth and hoping someone could pull be back towards it! I much prefer writing on themes such as that!

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  4. Western Jaguar sounds pretty pleasant and recall the name, based on your previous coverage. I also admire multi-instrumentalists like Jeffrey Trainor. I barely managed to play two instruments, even though I practiced a lot during my teenage years and early ’20s.

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  7. I very much like Western Jaguar’s music. It’s a bit emo too, which is something I like, but definitely more on the Shoegaze side like you’re saying. I heard “Reposses” recently on an OTH livestream too, I think I’d say that’s my favorite of the single

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  9. Badfinger (Max)

    I remember another song by him I liked… I like the intro to this a lot. I also like The Brightest Ray Of Darkness. I remember him now…he plays a Fender Jaguar…so that is apt. His music is really tight.

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