It’s a safe bet his loyal fan base are going to ride for this album. Artists like The Weeknd have made that crossover from the indie space to mainstream commercial success, all the while churning out expansive album after expansive album.īut for an artist like Joji, who is still in that transitional phase of his career, it’s definitely a bold move to release an album like this, which is an invitation for listeners to invest. ![]() Not to say that the deep-dive album format has been completely lost on pop acts. But the ‘serious album’ experience is typically a concise, narrative-driven record that captures your attention from the jump, leading you to the end of the journey without getting lost along the way as we saw last year with The Sailor from Rich Brian (which featured Joji). We’re more used to having studio albums - particularly the big mainstream ones -padded out with big name collabs and playlist ready singles. Still, an album as expansive as Nectar - 18 songs running at nearly an hour - always presents challenges. The sounds are rich, the production slick and with some of his best songwriting at play yet, Nectar has sparks of brilliance that solidifies Joji as a Leading Sadboi for a whole wave of alt-R&B fans. ![]() Well from the jump, there’s no denying that Nectar is a well-produced and expertly delivered project, one that encompasses a strong blend of R&B, pop, electronica and indie influences. And as the 88rising crew continues to establish themselves in their own lane, how does this 18-track odyssey ultimately serve Joji? Nectar proves that as a musician, he isn’t afraid of opening up and showing us how he’s expressive as a songwriter to whom ‘honesty’ and ‘emotion’ aren’t scary words.Īnd while the album does have a number of highlights that showcase his dynamism and chemistry ( ‘777’, ‘Reanimator’, ‘Sanctuary’), Nectar does have its middling points too.Īll up, Nectar is an ambitious effort. In press appearances, and even his recorded song intros for triple j, we get the media/fan-trained Joji complete with wryness and self-aware humour. Whether these emotions are attached to relationships, self-esteem or creativity, Joji manoeuvres each territory with genuine sensitivity. Thematically, Nectar doesn’t leave the realms of sorrow, regret and shades of wallowing. With Nectar, Joji embraces an assertive vocal identity and delivers moments of great emotional resonance, such as ‘Mr. On his early material, Joji sounded as if he was still finding his footing as a vocalist, blending a little too much into the production. Joji’s vocal strength is key to the album’s impact and charm. He injects authenticity throughout and is unafraid of leaving himself vulnerable on songs like ‘Run’ and album opener, ‘Ew’. From Diplo (‘Daylight) to BENEE (‘Afterthought’) and Omar Apollo (‘High Hopes’), not to mention Kenny Beats, Justin Parker and Australian songwriting force Sarah Aarons on production and writing duties at various points of the album, Nectar has got substance in spades.Īgainst such a strong sonic tapestry, Joji is left with room to explore his lyricism and presentation as a vocalist. First Spin: Joji scores another winner with Diplo collab 'Daylight'įor his second album, Joji has built up a strong list of collaborators. Two years on, Nectar comes as the next step of his evolution.Ī record full of rich sounds and fleshed out influences that highlight just how well the R&B and alt-pop worlds have been colliding in recent years, Nectar is the sort of album you’d want to bump late night for a serious mood. A record that did well in breaking Joji away from the shackles of his YouTuber origins (vale, FilthyFrank and Pink Guy), Ballads 1 established Joji’s potential as a musical identity that could thrive independently of the online personas many of his fans were first introduced to. ![]() ![]() At the same time, how good is having a batch of music you can fall down a rabbit hole of *feels* to?Ģ018 saw the release of Joji’s debut album, Ballads 1. Music that can provide us with humour, optimism. The 18 track album is a massive effort, but can it stand strong on its own?Ī year that has flatlined as much as 2020 has needed music to inject some much-needed energy into things.
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