Every year, a couple of sleeper artists emerge in my local scene that seem to immediately come out swinging with a polished, fun product. Why this happens is a whole separate conversation; but in 2022 unquestionably one of those artists for me is Jady.
I met Jady in real life for the first time at Audiofeed Music Festival in Champaign, IL. He was attending as the bass player for Jay Joseph, one of the artists tapped by Tuned Up to appear at the fest’s comeback event post-Covid. I was immediately struck by his gregarious personality and his drive. This vibe is one that carries over to his music – undeniably so.
The Haze is an appropriate name for this alt-pop record. In an era where much of pop-music feels formulaic and uninspired, this album feels a bit mysterious but mostly like a kid from suburban Columbus had a blast making it. There are certainly folks that will accuse this album of being derivative or formulaic. But for me the fun factor and Jady’s freshness to the scene adds a genuine factor that stops those arguments in their tracks.
This album is back-to-back bangers. For me, it takes a bit longer for a lot of these songs to really “stick” but I view this more as a symptom of me listening to nonstop indie pop albums and less about the quality of the tracks themselves. In the moment, I get a lot of joy listening. The song “Modern Era” feels like what would happen if a band like Coin married Phoenix (which is appropriate because Phoenix dropped a record this week that I’m excited about). For me, the first half of the album is the stronger portion. “My Moonlight” at first listen feels like your typical indie pop power ballad but there are some subtle elements to the production that really make it feel cohesive to the mysterious branding established throughout.
I wish I knew more about who Jady collaborated with to produce this record. Jay Joseph seems like a reasonable assumption given they are in the same band. Everything sounds crisp and polished without that contrived autotune that seems to permeate a lot of pop.
Favorite tracks: “The Haze,” “Entropy,” “1970.”
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