JJ LOVEGROVE: Things Only The Dark Knows
JJ LOVEGROVE’S ‘Only THE daRk knows’ EP gets its eagerly awaited release today, a work of such imperious beauty you’ll be listening to it on repeat for days.
This is an extraordinary release, no bad thing that at times it’s challenging to define.
Perhaps it’s the music The Cocteau Twins mistakenly believed they were creating.
They weren’t even close.
‘Only THE daRk knows’ contains five tracks each as powerful as the other, the melodies, the production so complex yet paradoxically, occasionally so simple, lyrics clearly extracted from the deepest recesses of JJ’s soul.
“I hope the EP speaks to people who’ve had moments where they’ve felt like they’ve lost everything, even themselves, awake, alone. These are things only the dark knows,” explained JJ.
“The Government’s stance on creative jobs during Lockdown had me feeling like I was fighting once again to justify this ‘job’ I have. So, I put my gloves on and got back in the ring to write ‘things Only THE daRk knows,’ a collection of thoughts, feelings & emotions during a period in my life where I’m learning to grow up, lose loved ones, be comfortable in who I am and what I am passionate about, whilst terrified of all the things I was seeing on the news.”
Having previously knocked heavily on the industry’s Breakthrough Door with Baby Genius and tours with Fun Lovin’ Criminals and The Beautiful South, JJ’s voyage towards the industry’s top table stalled following a Baby Genius change of personnel, but surely history will make light of this temporary setback.
“Baby Genius were doing OK and had just recorded our second album in New York Quad Studios but after a line-up change the band finished abruptly and I sort of went in to hiding feeling a little jaded and let down by the whole industry at the time,” explains JJ.
“But I came to realise I’d let the industry silence me. Music is all I have ever known. I’m named after an Al Green Song and music has shaped every tiny part of my life ever since. I’ve been fortunate enough to play the John Peel stage at Glastonbury, tour the world, drink with my heroes, and meet most of my true friends through things I had created and shared with the world, so I decided I wasn’t going to let them take my voice. I had something to say, and I wasn’t hearing anyone else saying it.”
Don’t be fooled by the chilling opening of the EP’s title track which offers barely a glimpse of what lies ahead. It’s eerie, ethereal, and exquisite in equal measure.
But I’m doing the EP a tremendous injustice by only highlighting one fifth of it.
There’s magnificence everywhere. I’d give a penny for your thoughts. I’ve had twenty.
The EP’s live launch was last night at Rough Trade, Nottingham and you can catch JJ Lovegrove live supporting Leif Erikson in Leicester on November 22nd.
LISETN TO – AND SUPPORT – JJ LOVERGROVE HERE:
Music | JJ Lovegrove (bandcamp.com)
