The intro drum loop signals something is about to happen. A tense anticipation sinks in, not unlike the feeling one gets taxiing down a runway. Something is warbling in the background. A synth? A voice? It echoes a pent up whimper, finally being released, after interminable periods of overarching confusion, exhaustion, and even dread have taken a person to the breaking point. A long overdue conversation is finally about to happen.

Sit me down baby
Tell me that you’re crazy
'Cause I’ve lost my mind
Enough times
For you

Song lyrics are often abstract, particularly so in Anders Trentemøller’s music, but Warpaint’s Jenny Lee is singing straight from her heart in “Try A Little." We know what it’s like to unilaterally care for someone, inexplicably loving a person who is seemingly incapable of loving us back in the way we deserve. The absence of reciprocation is maddening. It could all be so easy.

Try a little
Work a little
Be a little bit more for me

A burst of ambient wash lifts off the song at the chorus, buoyed by a kinetic baritone guitar pattern. The protagonist finally spells it out in capital letters: actions speak louder than words, and it’s time to deliver. It’s a point that’s simple enough to make, enveloped in the frustration that this should just naturally occur to any person who claims to care about someone.

It’s not difficult to connect, personally, to many of Trentemøller’s songs. We see ourselves in the partner who has compromised themselves in a relationship, or the person burdened with unrequited love, who holds out hope for something that will never be, but “Try A Little” might just be the most relatable yet.

"This song is very dear to me. It speaks the truth regarding some of the hardest things to admit to oneself. It was an act of vulnerability. As per usual, it was a stream of conscious exercise, this time directed towards myself and the relationships most present in my life, asking for help, presence. You know… 'show up! Please!’”

Anders’ music and Jenny’s lyrics pair so well it will come as no surprise they have worked together in the past. It only made sense to give it another go for this release, even though the album it will be included on, Obverse, was intended to be entirely instrumental.

"It’s always been extremely challenging coming up with vocals to music that is not my own, yet for some reason it happens pretty effortlessly every time with Anders, whom I’ve had the pleasure of working with again."

As the album title suggests, Obverse presents opposing scenarios, so why should we be surprised that the ultimate plea for emotional parity was constructed so symbiotically?

The music video for ‚Try A Little‘ has been produced by experimental filmmaker and Emmy nominated animator
Thomas McMahan and features singer jennylee.