Album Review: GARAGEB&

Album Review: GARAGEB&

The Neighbourhood’s front man, Jesse Rutherford, just released his second solo album titled “GARAGEB&” on April 12. The Neighbourhood is an alternative pop/ rock band that have always made some pretty exciting tunes. I have been a fan of them since I can remember to be honest. My very first concert was The Neighbourhood concert back when I was 16, and I just recently saw them again last summer. I have written about some of their music before, so when I saw Jesse dropped a new album, I immediately went to go listen to it. My best friend who took me to my first concert to see them even texted me freaking out, naturally. They really make an impression on you.

 

Their first album, “I Love You,” is in black and white and so are the music videos. Even at the concert, they had the screens in black and white. This type of vibe is not what Jesse does for his sound in his solo music. Yet, he also keeps some of The Neighbourhood’s elements within his music, while also making a new image and sound for himself.

 

With this new album, he used the same & symbol from his previous solo album. I came to learn that Jesse made 10 out of the 12 songs on this album from the GarageBand app. As others have noted already, Jesse is a huge inspiration for self-made artists because of his ability to make such great music just from a mic and a couple of apps.

 

I prefer the first half of this album over the second half but all in all, I believe it is a very well-done album. There is a mixture of different genres in this album but seems to remain faithful to Jesse’s sound. My absolute favorite track right now is “Girls & Boys” which has some of The Neighbourhood elements to it while making it his own.

 

Jesse, who usually is very quiet and modest, clearly takes pride in this new album as he posted on Instagram, “i’m not typically a prideful person, but i can say i am genuinely proud right now. i have been on a quest for identity & i feel like i have achieved such with GARAGEB&. since i “made it” i have constantly battled anxiety & depression. although it does run in my family, i feel like a lot of it came from right here on the internet. i have built a life for myself here.”

 

I very highly recommend you listen to this album and enough the mix of sounds. I can say with certainty this will remain one of my all-time favorite albums that will be playing on repeat for the next couple of months.

RIYL: HUNNY, Declan McKenna, Jaymes Young, girl in red

REC TRACKS: 2, 3, 6, 9, 10