FEATURED ARTIST
*JOKYO*
Redondo Beach, United States
*HOUSES IN MY HEAD*
REVIEW
The title of the project immediately made me think of a concept found in the film adaptation of Stephen King's 'Dr Sleep' placing memories and experiences in boxes within your mind, locking away those demons and praying that they never get exposed by the outside world. In this project however, #Jokyo holds a similar yet slightly different narrative. To this creative, #HousesInMyHead means searching for home. Overthinking. Overanalysing. Over complicating. Over Feeling. Searching for a place of belonging in others but when he can't find it, he turns elsewhere to fill the void. So, what is #HousesinMyHead? - #HousesinMyHead is the latest 6-track EP from United States based artist #Jokyo that discusses a range of mental health struggles in a wrath of emo rock/punk and beyond. I always warm differently to music that expresses demons and so I decided to do this review. The EP opens with a track called #BleedinForyaBaby. This piece captured my soul from the start through the deepness of the keys, to the speed of the drums. The vocals remind me of Brandon Flowers - How can you not love that?! The vocals are distant and slightly buried in the piece but that's what makes it so effective. You can feel the pain even if you can't grasp every single word of the piece. #CorpseWalkin has an eerie feel to it, a sense of white noise lingers in the background. Now, in this piece the lyrics are as clear as day - you can really hear what the artist has to say both in sound and in lyrical content. There's a real sense of darkness and beauty found in this piece that is toned down by the upbeat drumming making it something that lifts your mood! #I'mtheBeast is an interesting piece that sings about authenticity, sticking to yourself and never changing in spite of the distorted views people may hold over you. This piece pretty much states ok, you've labelled me the beast, here I am then. #NoGlorytoBeHad has a really nice drum roll that borders on hip-hop and trap. The lyrics talk of addiction and the depression that comes in its hand when it becomes too hard to tame yourself. #SweetNostalgia is a piece made in a land of dreams - Well, that's what I thought at the start. The track brings in some heavy distortion too! I was completely shocked by this piece in a great way! In this piece we hear the rap skills of #Jokyo and I'm 100% here for it. I love the diversity this track brings to the project and within itself! The project finishes with the title track #HousesinMyHead - Talk about saving the best until last! The keys in the opening...are on fire, the symbols ring endlessly in your mind and the vocals, well they're real. There's a sprinkle of happiness within its cinematics whilst holding demons close and screaming. Let's not forget the guitar solo. This whole project is a true piece of art.