Hottest New Deadly Doll: Jesse Jo Stark
Earthy Americana and a classic Hollywood allure play a role in Jesse Jo Stark’s nods to classic 70’s rock and 90’s slowcore that takes inspiration from Liz Phair and Mazzy Star. Stark is a multi-dimensional artist who has roots in fashion design, creating custom items for Orville Peck, Yungblud, and Post Malone. She is also the founder of her own merch company – Deadly Doll – named after one of her songs as she follows in her parents’ footsteps, the designers and creators of the Chrome Hearts fashion brand. Classic Hollywood noir, vintage horror aesthetics and pulp characters grace the designs of Deadly Doll, as the songstress finds ways to push boundaries in the music and fashion realms.
Stark channels a whole lifetime of inspiration, open wounds, and her native country-fused rock roots into her artwork. Her old-soul energy was first channeled when Stark began songwriting at the age of seven and formed her first band at 11 years old. She has released singles as a solo artist since 2017 and has opened for Guns N’ Roses and Jane’s Addiction.
The songstress’ emotional sensibilities and alternative flairs are captured best in her stripped-down acoustics from her 2021 EP A Pretty Place to Fall Apart. Her approach is unconventional and endlessly exhilarating to watch. Stark’s blood-boiling sagas of exploration, romance, and sensuality evolve into mystifying – yet intoxicating – sounds for her listeners. Stark’s pure vulnerability ruminates through every word she writes, and let’s just say, we’re obsessed. A Pretty Place to Fall Apart mirrors the deepest and most honest reflection of Stark’s own soul. Through her EP release, Stark has secured her spot as the ultimate femme fatale in the alternative scene.
Stark’s latest single releases titled “so bad” and “modern love” feature celestial imagery of Stark lying on a stylized ground caught on fire. An angel with flowy hair, adorned in a white bodice dress, gleaming halo, and colossal wings reign over Stark as she’s immersed in a dark, cloudy sky.
The deadly doll’s latest release “so bad,” features Jesse Rutherford of The Neighbourhood and was co-produced by Michael Harris (HAIM, Angel Olsen). The duo creates an atmosphere that’s as raw and sensually fierce as the lyrics themselves. Stark sings a tale about the darker influences surrounding her music which includes breaking hearts, the agony she faces, and the risks she takes. Reaching for the stars, breaking hearts, and leaving scarred memories – despite setbacks and heartbreak – the songstress always sings ode to her native influences of LA. Leading with her heart, Stark sings, “If I lose in this race, I’ll just cruise back to LA / With a bruise on my face / Dirty shoes and a broken leg.”
The difficult lesson of repeating vicious cycles in regard to chasing something that feels good, but in the end is bad for you is captured in “so bad.” The single pulsates an edginess and a duality of good and bad which is referenced in the single artwork of someone on the brink of hell and an angel saving them.
The accompanying music video for “so bad” features cameos from people in Stark’s life including her father, Richard Stark of Chrome Hearts, Steve Jones of Sex Pistols, and Rutherford. The aesthetics behind the music video take inspiration from Tarantino's Kill Bill saga as Stark seeks revenge on the people who hurt her brother, and has a taste for justice.
Stark’s dark and sultry single release “modern love” starts with an electrifying beat, a self-reliant attitude and a goth Americana eroticism that is undeniably addicting. “modern love” produces a smokey, pulp-fiction aura that’s backed with distorted guitar riffs and rich, romantic tunes. The songstress sings, “So you like my nasty hair? / Yeah, I see you’re nasty too / Never saying what you mean / Plastic smile from me to you / Still finding, designing modern love / Modern love in camouflage / ‘Cause you can never get enough.”
The songstress’ sound is reminiscent of traditional blue rock soundscapes, and “modern love” proves to be a melodramatic ballad that I’ve come to adore so much through its grittiness, darkness, and campiness. Her fluid narration of what modern love means to her captures the reality of tangled hair, fake friends, and the nastiness of it all. Every single release is intoxicating and exciting; every guitar riff is nothing short of classic rock n’ roll and killer femme fatale vigor.
Jesse Jo Stark’s constant reinvention of the embodiment of a rockstar lifestyle is captured in her lyrics of rebellion, embracing individualism and femme fatale sagas. Her sultry and solemn soundscapes continuously grab the attention of her listeners as she sticks to her meticulous, sharp lyricism, psych-folk, and native rock influences. Stark’s long-awaited debut album DOOMED is set to release in September, touching on life's duality. “Like love and pain, lightness and darkness, glamour and horror,” Stark says.
