These moody tracks are perfect for a ‘cry in the shower’ playlist
By Udeshi Seneviratne, Illustrator
3.5/5
George Kusunoki Miller, who goes by Joji and is known for his previous YouTube career, released Nectar on September 25. The collection of songs showcases Joji’s growing talents in merging pop and R&B while extending his melancholy brand surrounding lyrics of heartbreak, love, and sadness.
The next time you ride the bus on a rainy day and watch rain droplets race down the side of the window as they refract streetlights, consider putting on Nectar. Its somber melodies, raw vocal lines, and inescapably enchanting falsettos will submerge you into your feelings.
Nectar is a generous album with 18 tracks acting as glimpses into the mind of Joji. The album showcases quality songs derived from collaborations with talented artists like Diplo, Omar Apollo, Lil Yachty, rei brown, BENEE, and Yves Tumor. The track “Gimme Love” has been streamed over 95-million times on Spotify to date, followed by “Daylight” featuring Diplo as one of the most anticipated songs, with over 31-million streams.
Joji’s Nectar starts with the stunning and emotional “Ew.” With this opening track, Joji announces his devastation with heartbreak in relationships through a ballad in the highest register and yearns for a different outcome. There are songs within the album that are hybrids of pop-rock, rap, R&B, and ballad. Another track that showcases Joji’s impressive vocals is “Run.” While still expressing Joji’s sad persona throughout, “Run” features a gorgeous melody and an incredible electric guitar solo towards the end. The album does have some fun tunes from “777” and “Tick Tock,” which reminds me of a Rich Brian melody.
Despite the grand number of tracks on Nectar, one can get turned off by the repetition of the second half of the album. Occasionally, some genre combinations do not harmonize well together, creating bland melodies and lyrics. Still, others make up for this by curating grandiose and refreshing escapades for your ears.
Due to the pandemic, Nectar was released much later than its intended official release date in June. However, the album offers the exact mood needed to get you transitioned into sweater weather!
