One of the most surprising albums of the year, Jonny by The Drums, is striking for many reasons. The album cover shows singer and main member Jonny Pierce crouched down, naked and seemingly praying in his parents’ house.
The album is similarly raw, intimate and honest. Gone is the easy -breeziness of previous work, which was influenced by doo -wop and surf guitars. There are little traces here and there, as with ‘ Be Gentle’, where Pierce sounds like a young Brian Wilson. But in the main, it’s introspective and poignant, with more contemporary soniics.
These songs are mired in lived experience, described by Pierce as “hymns to the human heart”. The pain of being raised in a “cultlike” environment is the jumping-off point for his lyrics, and there’s a little nod to electropop, as with ‘I’m Still Scared’, which has juddering synths, and a twitchy Blood Orange-esque collaboration with Maryland rapper Rico Nasty , ‘Dying’.
It’s not all heartbreaking – much of it is actually about acceptance and hope. ‘The Flowers’ is like The Smiths at their most tender, and ‘Plastic Envelope/Protect Him Always’ are sad but not without sweetness. It’s a working through, a catharsis that lands just right and never feels self-indulgent or too much of an overshare- precious and rare in these days of social media and sanctioned narcissism.
Out now via ANTI-
Main picture by Qiao Meng.
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