Jio – TFW

A fresh take on pain

New York producer J. Albert has released TFW, the debut album from his new project Jio. This “break up tape” was bedroom recorded during recent emotionally hard times and features some experimental production and emo mumble-singing, and that’s not a bad thing.

“How Many X’s” starts the album off strongly and presents itself as the album’s thesis statement, with crunchy lo-fi trap drums, cloudy synth pads and warped, twisted metallic percussion. Jio’s vocals are kind of amateur and muffled, but it all blends with the vibe the instrumental sets and ultimately creates a heavy, somber and surreal feeling. “But She Fine” feels slower and more deconstructed, but the emotion and sadness bleed through the shyly sung vocals and loud, abstract trap drums.

“Circular Thinking” is an ambient palate cleanser as Albert layers a few tracks of vocals, and the effect is interesting, although it might have sounded better if the vocal weren’t so loud. “Precious” suffers from an unbalanced mix, but overall it’s a great track, with glitchy drums, bells and Jio’s vocals which are impressively audible. The mood is skeletal, black and white; Jio’s delivery is dramatic but subdued, and you feel his angst and vulnerability. He raps about his loneliness and how his phone is his only friend.  “Already Dead” is an abstract track made of slow drums, creepy looped samples and vocals buried underneath. The song feels stuck and schizophrenic, a melancholia soupy mixture of a Jio at his most deconstructed.

TFW is a good little experimental hip hop album with nice surprises and heartfelt sound and approach. Jio does experiment on the trap formula but doesn’t veer off course too much. The production is much more varied, sputtering and glitchy yet the music is still pretty accessible and a short, fun listen.