Johnny Jewel — Windswept

The Chromatics mastermind’s first solo album might be his darkest. It’s also groovy as fuck.

“Christmas day 2015, Johnny almost died in Hawaii,” Chromatics manager Alexis Rivera wrote in a recent Tweet. “When he came back home to California he destroyed all copies of Tommy. 15K CDs & 10K vinyl in the Italians warehouse in Glendale, all gone.”

Brutal.

She was referring to Dear Tommy, Chromatics’ much-anticipated fifth album. It’s possible that bandleader Johnny Jewel’s decision to destroy the records was the result of twisted artistic perfectionism. Or a ketamine overdose. Either way, Chromatics fans might be in for a few more years of waiting. Luckily, Jewel has gifted us with Windswept in the meantime, his first solo LP.

It’s a collection of tracks produced by Jewel, with guest appearances by Italians Do it Better label-mates like Symmetry and, of course, Chromatics. Most of the tracks, it appears, were designed for the Twin Peaks soundtrack. It’s not the first time Jewel has worked on scores — he soundtracked Drive and Bates Motel, among others — but it might be the project most perfectly suited to Jewel’s style. Jewel and David Lynch have similar eyes for the dark and bizarre. They both seriously dig synths. And both of them have produced work that is, at times, weird as shit.

So, how does the album actually sound?

Windswept doesn’t reached the heights of Night Drive. It’s too meandering, too unfocused. But it’s still impressive as fuck. When it’s dark, it’s as dark as something Arca would release. When it’s groovy, it climbs inside your head and makes you want to move. The title track manages both at once.

Windswept’s best moment though might be ‘Blue Moon’, which sounds the most like a regular Chromatics song. It’s kind of like a noir version of ‘Running Up that Hill’, and its achingly beautiful. It gives me hope that Dear Tommy will live up to the hype.

Hopefully Jewel doesn’t destroy it again.