This year Tobias Jesso Jr has earned so much money for co-writing ‘Man I Need’, Olivia Dean’s hit, that we retired him for another five years. It’s been 6 years since we wondered what had happened to his solo career. We had definitely retired him as a solo artist, especially since ‘When We Were Young’, which he composed with Adele, became an even more beloved song than ‘Hello’. Recently, he has participated in Rosalía’s ‘La Jugular’.
But not. Tobias Jesso Jr has continued to compose for himself. And as soon as next week, by surprise, he will release his new album, ‘Shine’, which he recorded during “6 weeks off.” It will arrive 10 years after ‘Goon’. He will talk about “his mother, his son, a breakup, his current life” and will feature collaborations from Danielle Haim, Eli Teplin, Julian Bunetta, Justin Vernon, Rosie Hamilton, Tommy King and “a psychic.”
The first progress is promising. Tobias opts for a title as simple as ‘Without You’ was at the time. This time the song, our Song of the Day today, is called ‘I Love You’. A Carole King-like piano line defines the composition, while the artist sings as if possessed by the spirit of John Lennon.
But surprise: in the final minute and a half the beats burst in like in that Dutch Björk rave. Only in the video we see that it is a real drum set, distorted to the point of unpleasantness, that plays the climax.
In the lyrics Tobias searches for his beloved, who remains “hidden in a secret place”, “cries with broken wings” because “he knows that flying involves a risk and it hurts to fall.” What seems like a song about the fear of loving because of the suffering it entails, acquires new interpretations thanks to the production. Because he has helping hands too: he co-writes Rosie Hamilton and co-produces Shawn Everett.
Shine:
01 Waiting Around
02 Black Magic
03 Bridges
04 Green Eyes
05 Everything May Soon Be Gone
06 Rain
07 I Love You
08 Lullaby
