Mar 17, 2023

By Caleb Campbell

Photography by Lauren Luxenberg

Later this year, London-based alt pop singer/songwriter Jamws is set to share his forthcoming debut album, Soft. Arriving in the wake of his 2020 EP, Toronto, Soft represents Jamws’ at his most lush and transportive, crafting waves of decadent dreamy melodies laced with infectious grooves and sharp hooks. He returned earlier this year with the album’s anthemic lead single, “I Don’t Want To Fall In Love,” and today he’s back with his follow-up, “How’s LA?,” premiering with Under the Radar.

“How’s LA?” shows off the more textural and emotive side to Jamws’ music, blending together a dreamy pop chorus with dark and seductive grooves. The infectious basslines and steady drumming lend the track a smokey and intimate sheen, one that turns shimmering and vibrant with the guitar-soaked chorus. James’ vocals are similarly elastic and magnetic, moving effortlessly between his honeyed lower register and a celestial falsetto. Meanwhile, his lyrics meditate on a relationship that has turned rocky, exploring heartache and longing in the aftermath of his lover’s move to LA.

As Jamws explains, “‘How’s LA? ’ is a letter to my ex. She’s an actor and we broke up at a time in her career where things were really blowing up. I was daydreaming about what her life was like now and reckoning with not being part of it.

I like this one a lot because it feels like a stream of consciousness. Being separated made me feel a lot of different emotions at once – like yearning, bitterness, love, nostalgia and mostly grief.

The music marries the lyrics kind of perfectly for me. In the verses I almost sound emotionally disengaged and the music floats along like a steady dream. But in the chorus the facade bursts and I’m pleading ‘when you gonna realise?’. It’s like I’m snapping between acting like I don’t care then caring so much.”

Check out the track below, out everywhere now.

Out Now via Café au lait Records