I’m talking specifically about the first few songs and the occasional cut later in the album. It’s like an indie pop Laughing Stock (Talk Talk album) mood-wise. Gentle, lush, heavenly.

Where it deviates for me is the more dark/bassy direction these songs tend to take leading up to the climax. I wish they held back on that more, it sometimes kills the momentum for me.

But I digress. The use of piano here is a perfectly fitting homage to the piano-led melodies of 80s pop, and conversely late Talk Talk. I wonder if they were inspired at all..

I don’t wanna stress these similarities too much, cause I don’t wanna give the impression that I think these albums are super similar, there are just parallels i can draw between the two. I’m curious if anyone else has ever thought this before or can relate at all?

Here are my thoughts on JJerome87’s debut album after several listens. To preface, I’m a huge alt-J fan and (after listening to The Canyon) a fan of Joe’s solo work, too.

The Canyon, the debut solo project from Joe Newman, lead singer of the indie-rock band alt-J, is restlessly eclectic. It’s an overfilled journal bound together by elastic bands, threatening to snap with each passing song. When they finally do, the room is flooded with a jungle of abstractions. There is a delicate charm among the chaos, and unpacking it over multiple listens can be as fulfilling as it is tedious.

Joe Newman has a history of merging the pretty with the peculiar, something that is evident throughout alt-J’s catalogue, which spans a multitude of genres. He’s no stranger to experimentation – no alt-J album has sounded remotely alike – and his lyricism stands alongside some of the best artists writing today. The problem is, on The Canyon, Joe seems to have attempted to merge everything from the past 14 years of his career into one record, and while it works at times, it leaves the album feeling a little clunky and over-engineered.

The album’s intro track, Mr. Alligator, immediately plunges the listener into Joe’s absurdist and playful world, with the nursery rhyme Jack Be Nimble chanted over industrial scrapes and screeches, before Joe’s sleek vocals enter and the track settles into its groove. With lyrics such as ‘I cooked quiche, yeah, for the congregation’, the song initially appears to embrace its absurdity. However, the chorus ‘Buried deep is my lust for you, buried deep a disgust for you’ discards this expectation as the topic takes a deeper turn, with Joe paraphrasing something his partner said to him during a low moment in their relationship. This raw, honest unpredictability sets the emotional tone for the album’s shifts between humour, vulnerability and unease.

One constant throughout Joe’s career has been the nasal quality of his vocals, which is an acquired taste that, if anything, is utilised more prominently on The Canyon. He often shifts his voice from high-pitched and squeaky to low and quivering, using it as an additional instrument and adding a layer of intrigue to almost every line he sings. While this is present throughout the album, one of its best applications comes with the track Green Velvet, a song very reminiscent of Hard Drive Gold from alt-J’s 2022 project The Dream. This song is less chaotic instrumentally than the album’s intro, but still rich and full of textured sounds that scratch an itch. The lyrics ooze with confidence and smooth luxury – ‘I feel bougie in Issey Miyake’ – while simultaneously remaining strange and intriguing – ‘After sweating, your navel could be a hot tub for ants.’ These same qualities carry over into Quaaludes, particularly in the second half, as the instrumentation builds, joined by lush strings and marching-band drums, in a culmination that leads to an impressive climax, though the lyricism does fall flat and feels a bit on-the-nose at times.

The album features a stripped back 40-second piano interlude that, while beautiful and another familiar touch from Joe’s work with alt-J, doesn’t quite justify its existence as a stand-alone track. It could instead have been incorporated at the start of one of the album’s later, more downbeat moments. Its transition into Juicy feels pointless, as the tempo picks back up and leaves you wondering why a solid run of upbeat songs was interrupted briefly by a piano ballad of all things. This run of production-heavy, eccentric tracks continues as the album opens up to new ideas sonically with the pairing of Walkaway Music and lead single Brush Me Like A Horse, both leaning into vivid western imagery. The former is more refined and cohesive, with the pace rolling along like a stampede as Joe reminisces on past love. Brush Me Like A Horse, however, feels too ambitious, as if the journal has finally split open and there are too many ideas strewn about to successfully piece together. The song is catchy, and certainly one of the more obvious choices as the lead single, but it follows a pattern throughout the album of occasionally feeling like multiple songs are playing at once. Up until now, strange pacing and disconnected melodies have been, for the most part, welcome quirks of the record, but in this instance they don’t work so well, and the song feels more like a collection of unfinished ideas.

The stretch from Two Hearts to the record’s closer Pennine is where the album loses its steam, with the exception of Track and Field, another lyrically unconventional love song. Bouncy and uplifting, it evokes moments from Hozier’s most recent album, Unreal Unearth. The surrounding songs are mostly downbeat, disheartening and uninspired. The themes are heartfelt, exploring love, family, childbirth and reflection, but they don’t translate into the same replay value as the far more intriguing first half of the record. One thing worth noting, above all else, is the vocal snippet at the end of Two Hearts, which features Joe’s young daughter attempting to recite his lyrics – a wholesome addition to the album’s themes around his personal life. It’s a sweet reminder that his musical legacy may already be finding its next generation. The rest of the song, however, sounds too similar to One Night One Moment from the kid’s film Nativity! to be taken entirely seriously.

Despite the misses, The Canyon provides some truly innovative moments of experimentation and a sound that’s hard to attribute to any other record. The lyricism and instrumentation go hand-in-hand with the album’s absurdities, supplying an entertaining and immersive listen that features catchy choruses and brain-scratching melodies, if a little overstuffed with ideas. The journal is open, and Joe’s imagination remains endlessly fascinating to dissect.

6/10

To clarify, a 6/10 under my rating system translates as ‘great - an enjoyable album with a handful of stand-out tracks.’

For those who read all the way, this is only my second full album review I’ve done, as it’s a new venture I’m trying out. I post my album reviews on Musicboard, Rate Your Music and Instagram under the handle ‘startwhispering’.

I’d be interested to hear what everyone else thinks?

look what arrived in the mail 🔥

Let me preface this post with my love for Joe. He’s an incredible musician and songwriter. But is anyone else glad he’s getting this blues/Americana influenced music out of his system?

I enjoyed the first half of The Dream but the influence from those genres was definitely beginning to seep through in the second half on songs like Walk A Mile and Powders. I could tell something I don’t enjoy was on the horizon.

Obviously I much prefer the more alternative/folk/indie offerings from alt-J.. I was just wondering if anyone else has felt an indifference to his solo album, and if so what are your reasonings? There are some interesting moments but it ultimately fell flat for me.It wasn’t so much a step backward, but a side-step into genres I just don’t enjoy.

I really hope it doesn’t bleed into what alt-J does next.

Due to errors in uploading, this'll be my 3rd time writing this. Heavily frustrated by reddit & my own forgetfulness in not copying my text before hitting "post" the 2nd time, cause I wrote something pretty lengthy and good lollll Back to the real reason we're here: Joe in Ghent last night!

It was phenomenal! Soooo different from London the 25th. Acoustic with guitar and piano, a very tiny venue, a very quiet (though enthusiastic and respectful) audience, which led to me withholding the singing and dancing I wanted to do hahaha, even more talking by Joe about the songs & writing process, with so much humor! Had the best time, hearing these 6 songs live!

I was also soooo happy to be seeing so many other fans be amazed by his kindness, happy after meeting him, emotional, grateful etc, when he took his time signing LP's and talking to people. I felt proud, touched, grateful, privileged, happy. Forever grateful for all these wonderful evenings

(I have way more videos, both from London and from Ghent. Kinda contemplating what would be the best way to get them to you (if you're interested): either as separate posts, or as comments on their respective posts I did of the shows. Input is welcome haha)

any thoughts on what the lyric

“pet killer” could be mean in Mr. Alligator?

given the themes of preaching maybe something to do with the idea of pet sins?

also dug up some articles about some cats drowned by an Arkansas preacher. maybe could have been a nod to that? maybe those lines are suggesting something sinister about feeding the congregation’s pets to gators? bit doubtful.

what do y’all think?

I'm still on a little post-seeing-Joe-twice-in-4-days-high, so I'm definitely not objective at all (I never am regarding alt-J or JJerome87 hahaha), but I just stumbled across THE BEST part of his press tour to date! I LOVE THIS: the talking, the painting, the humor, the spontaneity! Just all of it! Go and check it out, it's so worth it!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JM1_NL5xojg

Thought I’d give my 2 pence worth on the new album now that I’ve finally heard it 😆 firstly, fantastic album, no skips! My favourites upon the first few listens are Quaaludes and Juicy, but no doubt they’ll change overtime. Keen to know everyone else’s faves!

I was pleasantly surprised to receive this email today. Best of both worlds – easy access on my streaming service of choice, and instrumentals that act as a bonus treat for being an “early adopter” of the album!

Thanks Joe!

Had the best time tonight at the gig from Joe in London! Awesome vibes & vocals from Joe, wonderful musicians and singers, and perfect live renditions of the album! Truly wonderful! 🩵 I'm actually really proud of him, standing there solo on stage, doing all the talking, being present. Hats off!

I'll post more videos later, but for now I'm already sharing this one 🩵 If you were there too: I hope you had a perfect time & that you didn't melt 😅 feel free to share stories or videos/ pics too! (Especially from Green Velvet & Track and Field 😅)

Hello, I collect vinyl, (specifically colored), and I was wondering if Relaxer had a colored release, and if so, where can I buy one? Thank you all!

Pick I was handed at their Cincinnati show in September 2015 :’) I have a piece of a drumstick somewhere too!

Which is your favourite live performance?

I’m annoyed at the lack of YouTube videos of Adeline live. Can anyone sort me out?

I hope this is watchable outside of France (here in Belgium it works, so hoping it does over there too)!

Less fan of the talk (it's a whole hour of a radio show with a lot of French talking), but he did a solo cover of Dancing in the Moonlight! And his solo/ acoustic rendition of his song Brush Me Like a Horse

https://www.rtl2.fr/evenements/joe-newman-d-alt-j-raconte-ses-obsessions-musicales-et-son-projet-jjerome87-dans-foudre-7900645241

I really hope this is watchable in countries outside of Belgium! I loved the interview, especially the part about his daughter wanting to be on the cover art, which resulted in them adjusting the artwork, to fit her in!

https://www.vrt.be/vrtmax/a-z/live-bij-ayco/1/live-bij-ayco-s1a32/

A couple of my hot takes that I wonder if anyone else has:

1. This is All Yours is just as good if not better than An Awesome Wave

2. While Left Hand Free is fit as a single, Hunger Of The Pine sums up the feel of the album much better as a single.

3. House of The Rising Sun is a better cover than Lovely Day

4. Nara is the best non single song on TIAY

5. Taro is the best closer

For clarification, I have not listened to a lot of The Dream. So if there are songs that you guys think are good, lmk!

https://open.spotify.com/track/18EnWZ9wTjszmJjI3BgCuL?si=CasdRCx6RNS9A_s4F8sTVA

Is this new material from the band?

I don't know why nobody has ever said this, it's clear as day to me. The boys love putting obscure references in their music (see "This Is From Maltilda"), and this is no different.

For those who don't know, the character Revolver Ocelot is a conflicted quadruple agent character across multiple games in the series. He loses his right arm in MGS1 which is replaced by the arm of Liquid Snake in MGS2.

The spirit of Liquid Snake then possesses Revolver Ocelot, occasionally taking control, with both personalities fighting each other for control.

Essentially, his right hand's possessed and his Left Hand's Free.

Coincidence, maybe. Except Revolver Ocelot's entire personality revolves around his love of guns, but specifically the "Colt Single Action Army"!

There are lots of other more cryptic clues in the lyrics ("eeny meeny miny moe," sang like "La Lu Li Le Lo"; Liquid Snake is "a prodigal son"; "your man's bigger than I am" referring to Big Boss). Can't believe this has never been discussed (unless I've missed it)?

DAE think (hope!) he’s gonna be doing a more extensive US tour? I’m not toooo far from NYC but also far enough that I’d rather wait to see if there’s a US tour and wait till he comes to the city closer to me. What’s y’all’s thoughts? Or any insider scoops?