Jaguar Dreams burst onto the indie scene this summer with their modern, lucid cover of Fleetwood Mac‘s “Dreams” and their well-received original singles “Just Life” and “Behind Those Clothes,” both of which were featured on Spotify’s New Music Friday playlist and Pandora’s New Music Now and Fresh Electronic playlists. Despite the buzz, the trio remains self-reliant, producing all of their own content and colorful music videos. Today they’re back with “A Real Woman,” from their EP coming out Nov. 16. According to the band, the single, premiering here on Bedford + Bowery, was inspired by “New York City’s undisguised confidence.”
“When throwing parties in our Brooklyn studio, we always play records that echo that attitude,” says Ben Eberdt (vocals, synth, guitar). “When you drop Chic, James Brown, and Johnny ‘Guitar’ Watson, people get movin’. Yeah, the baselines are fat and the vocals are smooth, but people are really responding to the swag and the rawness, and all that ‘coolness’ is just a natural byproduct of a bunch of perfect imperfections. Be true to yourself, take chances, be a little weird, inhale that garbagey air, embrace who you are but don’t be a jerk, and live a little.”
Jaguar Dreams.
That swagger and “coolness” is apparent in the track’s spacey synths, funky bass lines, and a “night at the disco” feel that screams ’80s dance revival. The nostalgia-filled music video shows carefree, confident women dancing the night away at an ’80s nightclub while the lyrics encourage listeners to be their true selves and embrace their individuality.
“‘A Real Woman’ is really just a metaphor for anyone who reps their unique individuality, and the line ‘This city ain’t made, for a girl like you’ is a direct reference to the badass New Yorkers who own it and rep themselves, no matter what society dictates,” explains lead singer Tim Kiely, who also plays synth and bass. “Anyone that is true to themselves is the type of person we fuck with and want to party with. That’s the ultimate sex appeal.”