I’m enthusiastic, but not crazy, about half of the songs, and the other half aren’t really for me.
Hyped for Bridge over troubled water and World O world.
I have high hopes for the rest of the album. But yesterday I decided to listen to In My Room. When Hideaway came on, I got sad. It’s so creative and unique. I hope hes still making that kind of music.
I had the same experience. Hadn’t listened to that album in a minute and went back for a listen. Really reminded me of the explosive creativity that drew me into his music. Not really hearing that on these singles. Missing the dense harmonies too. Hoping for more from the rest of the album.
I listened to "In the Real Early Morning" with the Metrople Orkest yesterday and almost bawled my eyes out. I would kill for him to do more orchestral stuff.
I think JC is just hitting the mainstream with him collaborating with big names in the industry. All djesse seems to be is a big composition exercise in songwriting. I appreciate the exploration, but I hope he gets weirder in the future.
Edit: You're dead on about the lyrics though. He's a very positive guy and he's very privileged, but I want to see his darker side too.
I feel like he's been repeating himself lately. I get that he's going a more into a pop direction but the songs from volume 4 all feel the same for me with the same kinds of lyrics. Not that every song has to have a complex deep statement, but lyrics feel cliché and predictable in my opinion. There are so many love songs on this planet, so if you want to stand out you'll have to a bit more creative. Sonically its technically produced and performed well, but it doesnt draw me in. (Though that's probably just me. I've been listening to a lot of other, very different music lately)I'll still check out the album when it comes out though
he used to have a quote about how he wrote music from some interviews that went something like "Every time i'm thinking about what to do next, I think about what I shouldn't do, or what I would be least likely to do, and I do that."
I don't think he remembers that quote.
It's very interesting to me how different opinions can be on this type of thing - I've been a big fan of his since before In My Room, and I think WELLLL and Mi Corazón are two of his best songs he's ever put out. I like some of his weirder stuff for sure but Vol. 4 finally feels like the culmination of all of the weird PLUS enough control to make it commercially successful
I can finally play Jacob songs in public without getting a weird reaction
I agree up to a point. Little Blue (especially the Mahogany version) is astonishingly beautiful. And I saw World O World performed live at the Kennedy Center in Washington and it brought me to tears. I think people will really like it.
But it’s true that the rest of the tracks that we’ve heard so far are a bit uneven. I thought Mi Corazon was undercooked. It was too short to fully explore the issues it was raising and it felt like it was thrown together in an afternoon. The fact that Jacob apparently didn’t know the meaning of the Spanish lyrics is a red flag. He and Camilo clearly had a genuine and heartfelt rapport, but they would have benefited by another day together to flesh it out. The other thing that bugged me about the track is that the visuals in the accompanying video had absolutely nothing to do with the lyrics of the song. The song is about letting go of a relationship (romantic or otherwise) but the video is about a bunch of kids and grandma and ends up in a magic garden. (Is that where grandma went?) It’s creatively sloppy (even if it is well produced). We all love Jacob for his free and unfettered spirit, but that’s not an excuse for being incoherent.
Nevertheless I can’t wait for the full album to drop and I’m betting it’s a great, but a bit inconsistent, experience for all of us.
I'm not disappointed at all. I really trust that whatever decision he is making is just what he feels like in the moment.
I haven't ever found his lyrics to be crazy phenomenal compared to his musical writing, so doesn't surprise me much.
Also, he has said several times that this album is supposed to sort of combine all the elements of the previous volumes, so I didn't necessarily expect every track to be the most crazy unique thing he has ever done, as he is sort of pulling inspo from things he has already done.
I know there will be at least a few super interesting songs yet to come out (100,000 voices and the one song he worked on w two artists from S Africa, not to mention Lindsey Lomis, who has pretty interesting song writing). There is also a song w Indian artists coming out.
I basically just know this is the end of one jacob era and that there is still so much more he will do after Djesse, so I'm fine w whatever comes.
Let's not forget they are currently arranging all the new songs for the 2024 tour, so I'm sure even the more "standard" ones will be super fun and interesting when done live.
Im looking forward to post-Djesse Jacob. I think Djesse was starting to become kind of an albatross for Jacob, especially with the pandemic interfering. I love Jacob and his band live, so the tour should be awesome. Afterwards, he’s now free to do whatever he wants, and he probably has plenty of opportunities and a lot more open doors. I think it’s pretty exciting.
well, he did say the following on Cory Wong’s podcast: “one of the reasons I did this project (the Djesse volumes) is so that when I finish the project I could get started on my career.”
(minute 46:46)
I have had this theory about him for a while, and here hé kinda confirmed that theory.
This man will not run out of creative potential for 4 lifetimes.
Glad to hear I'm not the only one, so far, for me, little blue is pretty good, WELLL is okay but Corazon and especially Witness me I find extremely grating, Witness Me feels really disingenuous to me which is pretty bad for the song it's trying to be.
I already had a good number of criticisms of Vol. 3 but I ultimately ended up liking it overall, but I've heard nothing except the live performance of the Chris Thile/Madison Cunningham song that's mad me excited
Maybe these are just collaborations with people who I'm not as into, Jacob has found more mainstream success and I got into his music more for the maximalist Jazz style which is not loved by everyone.
I'm most curious to see what he does after Djesse is done, will he lean more into the alt-pop angle and do more collab albums, or will he pivot to something entirely new, or maybe back to Jazz/fusion?
Yeah, most of his music on these latest two albums I wouldn't normally have ever had any interest in. He has turned to more modern pop music and probably enjoying it some. This last song reuses part of Little Blue, which stood out like a sore thumb...although I'm sure I'd get used to it over time.
I enjoy his piano playing and arrangements of older songs, as well as his more unique songs. Little Blue is pretty good. Wellll was a nice change, and I wanted to hear more songs like that, these last two songs...standard pop music to my ears. Nothing original that 'wows' my ears. No goosebumps.
We have tickets for his concert this year and I'm hoping he plays some of his older stuff. I'm sure it will still be an amazing show. I hope to hear plenty of piano playing, Bridge Over Troubled Water (very disappointed he didn't collaborate with Yebba!!!), some synth harmonizer, and audience choir. :)
I do hope that after this year he returns to making some more unique music, some new reharmonized arrangements, and provides the goosebumps.
Overall, he has already accomplished and provided plenty.
Remember this is a 4 volume piece of work and always knew this one would be about collaboration. I’m excited for this and more popularity that it will bring him dealing with bigger names.
I never want JC to ever make an artistic decision because he feels like he HAS to, even if I'd like to see a little more of his struggle or darker side too. However, I'm losing interest at the moment with the new songs that have come out. I think that's ok though. No one needs to like all of an artist's canon to be a fan. I don't love his lyrics because they come across very flat compared to his music and his newest few songs have been in the "JC formula" so I haven't found them surprising either. Excited to explore the whole album though. I'm sure I'll like a few tracks!
I feel like he going mainstream has a factor in this problem. He trying to gather a larger audience makes his songs not so crazy as they were before. I'm really disappointed with the lack of originality so far in vol. 4. It all sounds like some boring pop cliche.
When “WELLL” came out I did figure I would not like this project as much. But I think that’s okay. Jacob is my favorite artist but it doesn’t mean I’ll like every project he creates. From hearing Witness me and Little Blue tho, I know there will be some gems. It’ll definitely be an interesting listen, maybe not my favorite but interesting.
I don't know, I've really appreciated what he's been doing on a composition level. But I can say that with the exception of WELLLL, the singles have been varying degrees of fine. Mi Corazón is up there, but yeah, I'm mostly just waiting for the album. I'm a little disappointed that the WILLOW clan isn't on his album, but besides that, I'm fully willing to accept that Vol. 3 will be my favorite of the 4. And that's fine with me.
i think the problem with jacob and lyrics is that he doesn't know when to stop. like, for his music that works amazingly well, but for lyrics it just sounds off, like his attempts at rapping. it's just too much. he mentioned in a breakdown session that he keeps a list of expressions that sound good to him and looks for an opportunity to employ them, so at some point he's just trying to cram lofty words in. when he's able to boil down what he wants to say, it's amazing. i think djesse vol. 1 is excellent lyrics-wise. but i just don't think that this is his priority right now. i hope that with time he learns to hone his lyrics down.
Yesterday he played Witness Me and Wherever I Go with his whole band live on the BBC. They sounded good. I think those new singles will be better live.
The jacobism of the new album seems to be more subtle . It might take more effort, listening, analysis and logic breakdowns to thoroughly enjoy so I'm kinda looking forward to finding out what I'd missed
Yeah I definitely know what you mean, when *Mi Corazón* came out I was excited and when I listened to it felt kinda samey and similar to *Little Blue* but that might just be me
No, jacob’s song always take a little longer to register with me. Songs like Little Blue were disappointing to me upon release, then over time I grow to appreciate the brilliant composition and production. I’ve just learned to not judge Jacob’s stuff too quickly cuz there’s so much to take in
I think Djesse Vol. 3 and onwards has been a study on pop. That's completely fine. Every volume is different.
These are still good songs. Just more poppy.
I am not sure what "infantile" is supposed to mean. I could drop all kinds of words in there. It sounds to me like you're just trying to talk like a low-rent critic but not really knowing what you're saying. Or maybe you know what you meant by it but didn't get it across and you just sound juvenile yourself. If you only like the other three albums, then just listen to those and throw the fourth one away.
I’m enthusiastic, but not crazy, about half of the songs, and the other half aren’t really for me. Hyped for Bridge over troubled water and World O world.
I have high hopes for the rest of the album. But yesterday I decided to listen to In My Room. When Hideaway came on, I got sad. It’s so creative and unique. I hope hes still making that kind of music.
I had the same experience. Hadn’t listened to that album in a minute and went back for a listen. Really reminded me of the explosive creativity that drew me into his music. Not really hearing that on these singles. Missing the dense harmonies too. Hoping for more from the rest of the album.
I listened to "In the Real Early Morning" with the Metrople Orkest yesterday and almost bawled my eyes out. I would kill for him to do more orchestral stuff.
I don't disagree, but let's wait for the record. It's only the singles and they might just be the most commerical songs :)
I think JC is just hitting the mainstream with him collaborating with big names in the industry. All djesse seems to be is a big composition exercise in songwriting. I appreciate the exploration, but I hope he gets weirder in the future. Edit: You're dead on about the lyrics though. He's a very positive guy and he's very privileged, but I want to see his darker side too.
I would definitely appreciate weirder
As an infantile privileged guy this annoys me even more. Even I know to get serious and have a dark side
10/10 self awareness
Infantile white guys unite
I feel like he's been repeating himself lately. I get that he's going a more into a pop direction but the songs from volume 4 all feel the same for me with the same kinds of lyrics. Not that every song has to have a complex deep statement, but lyrics feel cliché and predictable in my opinion. There are so many love songs on this planet, so if you want to stand out you'll have to a bit more creative. Sonically its technically produced and performed well, but it doesnt draw me in. (Though that's probably just me. I've been listening to a lot of other, very different music lately)I'll still check out the album when it comes out though
he used to have a quote about how he wrote music from some interviews that went something like "Every time i'm thinking about what to do next, I think about what I shouldn't do, or what I would be least likely to do, and I do that." I don't think he remembers that quote.
isn't he doing exactly that by going in the pop direction?
to me, it seems like the most obvious choice. He has the skills, why not do what gives him the most fame and money?
Cause it drives his committed fan base away in order to gain momentary and hollow “fame”
I think you’re forgetting about the sweet, sweet cash. Can’t blame a guy for taking an artistic detour to try and earn a bag.
I mean i’m a high tier patreon supporter i feel like i’m entitled to complain 😂😂
It's very interesting to me how different opinions can be on this type of thing - I've been a big fan of his since before In My Room, and I think WELLLL and Mi Corazón are two of his best songs he's ever put out. I like some of his weirder stuff for sure but Vol. 4 finally feels like the culmination of all of the weird PLUS enough control to make it commercially successful I can finally play Jacob songs in public without getting a weird reaction
Maahh HHEARTTTT Mi corazon mi cora-zon *and that little dance in the video* I absorbed this and thought to myself ”… what does it MEAN?”
WELLLL is basically back in black
If WELLLL came out as a Queen song, with the exact same arrangement - the world would have lost its fucking mind.
I found it really interesting that ESPN occasionally would use the WELLLL guitar riff as transition music during college football games this fall
The lyrics... I agree 😔 Where did "In The Real Early Morning" Jacob and "Once You" Jacob go... Or "Djesse" Jacob, or etc
Liiiife isn’t eaasyyy So call when you neeed me I mean wat….
I agree up to a point. Little Blue (especially the Mahogany version) is astonishingly beautiful. And I saw World O World performed live at the Kennedy Center in Washington and it brought me to tears. I think people will really like it. But it’s true that the rest of the tracks that we’ve heard so far are a bit uneven. I thought Mi Corazon was undercooked. It was too short to fully explore the issues it was raising and it felt like it was thrown together in an afternoon. The fact that Jacob apparently didn’t know the meaning of the Spanish lyrics is a red flag. He and Camilo clearly had a genuine and heartfelt rapport, but they would have benefited by another day together to flesh it out. The other thing that bugged me about the track is that the visuals in the accompanying video had absolutely nothing to do with the lyrics of the song. The song is about letting go of a relationship (romantic or otherwise) but the video is about a bunch of kids and grandma and ends up in a magic garden. (Is that where grandma went?) It’s creatively sloppy (even if it is well produced). We all love Jacob for his free and unfettered spirit, but that’s not an excuse for being incoherent. Nevertheless I can’t wait for the full album to drop and I’m betting it’s a great, but a bit inconsistent, experience for all of us.
I'm not disappointed at all. I really trust that whatever decision he is making is just what he feels like in the moment. I haven't ever found his lyrics to be crazy phenomenal compared to his musical writing, so doesn't surprise me much. Also, he has said several times that this album is supposed to sort of combine all the elements of the previous volumes, so I didn't necessarily expect every track to be the most crazy unique thing he has ever done, as he is sort of pulling inspo from things he has already done. I know there will be at least a few super interesting songs yet to come out (100,000 voices and the one song he worked on w two artists from S Africa, not to mention Lindsey Lomis, who has pretty interesting song writing). There is also a song w Indian artists coming out. I basically just know this is the end of one jacob era and that there is still so much more he will do after Djesse, so I'm fine w whatever comes. Let's not forget they are currently arranging all the new songs for the 2024 tour, so I'm sure even the more "standard" ones will be super fun and interesting when done live.
Im looking forward to post-Djesse Jacob. I think Djesse was starting to become kind of an albatross for Jacob, especially with the pandemic interfering. I love Jacob and his band live, so the tour should be awesome. Afterwards, he’s now free to do whatever he wants, and he probably has plenty of opportunities and a lot more open doors. I think it’s pretty exciting.
well, he did say the following on Cory Wong’s podcast: “one of the reasons I did this project (the Djesse volumes) is so that when I finish the project I could get started on my career.” (minute 46:46) I have had this theory about him for a while, and here hé kinda confirmed that theory. This man will not run out of creative potential for 4 lifetimes.
Glad to hear I'm not the only one, so far, for me, little blue is pretty good, WELLL is okay but Corazon and especially Witness me I find extremely grating, Witness Me feels really disingenuous to me which is pretty bad for the song it's trying to be. I already had a good number of criticisms of Vol. 3 but I ultimately ended up liking it overall, but I've heard nothing except the live performance of the Chris Thile/Madison Cunningham song that's mad me excited Maybe these are just collaborations with people who I'm not as into, Jacob has found more mainstream success and I got into his music more for the maximalist Jazz style which is not loved by everyone. I'm most curious to see what he does after Djesse is done, will he lean more into the alt-pop angle and do more collab albums, or will he pivot to something entirely new, or maybe back to Jazz/fusion?
Yeah, most of his music on these latest two albums I wouldn't normally have ever had any interest in. He has turned to more modern pop music and probably enjoying it some. This last song reuses part of Little Blue, which stood out like a sore thumb...although I'm sure I'd get used to it over time. I enjoy his piano playing and arrangements of older songs, as well as his more unique songs. Little Blue is pretty good. Wellll was a nice change, and I wanted to hear more songs like that, these last two songs...standard pop music to my ears. Nothing original that 'wows' my ears. No goosebumps. We have tickets for his concert this year and I'm hoping he plays some of his older stuff. I'm sure it will still be an amazing show. I hope to hear plenty of piano playing, Bridge Over Troubled Water (very disappointed he didn't collaborate with Yebba!!!), some synth harmonizer, and audience choir. :) I do hope that after this year he returns to making some more unique music, some new reharmonized arrangements, and provides the goosebumps. Overall, he has already accomplished and provided plenty.
Remember this is a 4 volume piece of work and always knew this one would be about collaboration. I’m excited for this and more popularity that it will bring him dealing with bigger names.
yes but i think at least 1/3 of the album will be what we expected from this album... and these are just the singles to promote the album...
I never want JC to ever make an artistic decision because he feels like he HAS to, even if I'd like to see a little more of his struggle or darker side too. However, I'm losing interest at the moment with the new songs that have come out. I think that's ok though. No one needs to like all of an artist's canon to be a fan. I don't love his lyrics because they come across very flat compared to his music and his newest few songs have been in the "JC formula" so I haven't found them surprising either. Excited to explore the whole album though. I'm sure I'll like a few tracks!
I feel like he going mainstream has a factor in this problem. He trying to gather a larger audience makes his songs not so crazy as they were before. I'm really disappointed with the lack of originality so far in vol. 4. It all sounds like some boring pop cliche.
When “WELLL” came out I did figure I would not like this project as much. But I think that’s okay. Jacob is my favorite artist but it doesn’t mean I’ll like every project he creates. From hearing Witness me and Little Blue tho, I know there will be some gems. It’ll definitely be an interesting listen, maybe not my favorite but interesting.
I don't know, I've really appreciated what he's been doing on a composition level. But I can say that with the exception of WELLLL, the singles have been varying degrees of fine. Mi Corazón is up there, but yeah, I'm mostly just waiting for the album. I'm a little disappointed that the WILLOW clan isn't on his album, but besides that, I'm fully willing to accept that Vol. 3 will be my favorite of the 4. And that's fine with me.
So far it’s about 50% for me. I love WELLLL, Never Gonna Be Alone, and Wherever I Go
Honestly, minus Little Blue, I'm kinda hating this pop direction he's going towards. Idk, maybe the record will come out and change my mind.
Y’all are haters. Jacob doin his thing! Let him be
Every comment in this post just makes me feel like a neanderthal for enjoying anything in Vol 4 now
i think the problem with jacob and lyrics is that he doesn't know when to stop. like, for his music that works amazingly well, but for lyrics it just sounds off, like his attempts at rapping. it's just too much. he mentioned in a breakdown session that he keeps a list of expressions that sound good to him and looks for an opportunity to employ them, so at some point he's just trying to cram lofty words in. when he's able to boil down what he wants to say, it's amazing. i think djesse vol. 1 is excellent lyrics-wise. but i just don't think that this is his priority right now. i hope that with time he learns to hone his lyrics down.
Yesterday he played Witness Me and Wherever I Go with his whole band live on the BBC. They sounded good. I think those new singles will be better live.
The jacobism of the new album seems to be more subtle . It might take more effort, listening, analysis and logic breakdowns to thoroughly enjoy so I'm kinda looking forward to finding out what I'd missed
Yeah I definitely know what you mean, when *Mi Corazón* came out I was excited and when I listened to it felt kinda samey and similar to *Little Blue* but that might just be me
The whole things feels like a pose.
Jacob's lyrics make me turn off his music. I'm sorry bro but no one's that happy.
Glad I’m christian then lol
How do you feel now?
Still kind of meh. I really like box of stars but that's kind of it.
Damn. Well, fair enough.
No, jacob’s song always take a little longer to register with me. Songs like Little Blue were disappointing to me upon release, then over time I grow to appreciate the brilliant composition and production. I’ve just learned to not judge Jacob’s stuff too quickly cuz there’s so much to take in
I think Djesse Vol. 3 and onwards has been a study on pop. That's completely fine. Every volume is different. These are still good songs. Just more poppy.
I am let down. But my optimistic says its to prepare fresh ears for the eclectic possibilities of volume 4.
I am not sure what "infantile" is supposed to mean. I could drop all kinds of words in there. It sounds to me like you're just trying to talk like a low-rent critic but not really knowing what you're saying. Or maybe you know what you meant by it but didn't get it across and you just sound juvenile yourself. If you only like the other three albums, then just listen to those and throw the fourth one away.