Jesse Rutherford’s GARAGEB&
Jesse Rutherford, mononymously known as Jesse, flawlessly blends a variety of music genres in his latest album, GARAGEB&. The 12 track playlist, which Rutherford has said was produced mostly on the iPhone app, Garageband (hence the album’s title), manages to carve a new path for the singer, while remaining true to the sound fans know and love him for.
A mix of elements from alternative rock, R&B and rap all make their way into the album, but ultimately reach their peak in the album’s leading track, Tunnelovision, in which Rutherford reflects on a past relationship his friends didn’t approve of.
Though the first 30 seconds of the song may be reminiscent of the upbeat, beachy-electronic sounds of The Strokes, complete with hazy vocals designed to incite a false sense of nostalgia from the listener, Jesse’s verse soon shifts to the darker, sing-songy rap he began exploring in his first album, “&”. The genre-mixing within the song comes to life even further in the accompanying music video which paints Rutherford as the star on an array of famous album covers, like Nirvana’s Nevermind, Blink-182’s Enema Of The State, and Britney Spears’ Oops I Did It Again.
Puppy Love establishes itself as the sonic black sheep of the album with its acoustic guitar and mostly isolated vocals, though by the second chorus, Rutherford (characteristically) layers a simple beat onto the song. The simplicity of Puppy Love’s sound mirrors the honesty of the lyrics, in which Jesse assures his girlfriend’s parents he is not like the boyfriend of his girlfriend’s little sister, singing, “take away the tattoos and the love for R&B, and you’ll see that he is nothing quite like me”. The music video for the song is a black and white, cut-and-clipped reel of Jesse and girlfriend Devin Lee Carlson’s actual dogs, and can be found under another pseudonym of Jesse’s, The Factoury, on Youtube.
Hollywood Friends, another notable track off the album, dives into the superficial relationships of the industry Jesse is in. A few seconds into the bass-heavy electronic beat, Jesse’s voice comes through with his now recognizable line, “Day Trip took it to ten”, which has been used in songs off his previous album, like Blame. Compared to the rest of the album, this song seems to align more closely with Jesse’s previous work, making its sound familiar, but not recycled.
Track number nine, My Ways, may also sound familiar to those who’ve listened to previous work, specifically songs like Barbie & Ken,whose basement-style rap reappears on this track. My Ways embodies the running theme on the album of feeling like something is always missing.
Jesse talks about the way his life has changed in other songs on the album, like Story of My Life, in which he sings “Yesterday I went and bought a pound, Used to only buy it by the ounce.” He attempts to bring the listener along with him on his journey to fame, but also expresses his fear that the success he’d had is only temporary with the line “On my walk of fame made of quicksand”, which appears on Bi.
As a whole, “GARAGEB&” is sure to please any dedicated fan of Rutherford’s, and is likely to introduce a whole new audience to the young singer with its homogenization of various genres.
