Listen to Brothertiger’s new single, “Shelter Cove” – Paradise Lost is due out Sept 11, his first LP in five years
[pre-order the LP here]
STREAM: “Shelter Cove” –
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photo credit: Alec Castillo
Today, electronic music linchpin John Jagos, aka Brothertiger, has revealed a new single ahead of his upcoming LP. Click here to stream “Shelter Cove,” which revolves around a slow build into a rich & atmospheric layering of synthesizer and effected vocals. Paradise Lost is Brothertiger’s first album of original material in five years and is due out September 11, 2020 via Satanic Panic Recordings/self-release.
Regarding the origin of the single, John stated: “‘Shelter Cove’ was one of the last tracks I wrote for Paradise Lost. I was sort of at a crossroads at that point in terms of how I wanted to wrap up the record. I found the pad sound on my Juno 60 after running it through a bunch of compression and saturation, and I knew I had to make a song around it. The song is about some specific times on tour, driving through northern California on the Pacific Highway, finding swimming holes with my friend and sound tech Will. We’d look up some spots on our days off and drive to them. Last time we did was in October. We went to Pfieffer Beach near Monterrey. It was really windy and it clearly wasn’t swimming season, so everyone at the beach was dumbfounded watching two pale idiots running into the ocean.“
While a return to the traditional music consumption format, Paradise Lost is a new frontier for Brothertiger. The sonic territory covered across its beguiling 10 tracks ranges from earworm indie-pop to club-ready electronica, with Jagos’ signature soothing voice tying the whole picture together. Whether waxing philosophical about becoming an aging musician, longing for purpose, or celebrating life’s simple pleasures, on Paradise Lost, Jagos captivates on his long-awaited return.
Paradise Lost is the fourth full-length from Brothertiger following Out of Touch (2015), Future Splendors (2013), and Golden Years (2012) as well as a cover album, Brothertiger Plays: Tears for Fears’ Songs from the Big Chair (2017), last years A Chain of Islands EP and a collection of instrumental workings from earlier this year called Fundamentals, Vol. 1.
Bio:
What does contentment really mean to us? Is there such a thing as a perfect life, and are we wrong for constantly yearning for something more in the distance? These weighty, generational questions are put under a microscopic lens on Brothertiger’s new album Paradise Lost, the latest release from Brooklyn-based, Ohio-hailing 30-year-old electronic pop musician John Jagos. A lush journey through oceanic textures and gorgeous, tactile synths, Paradise Lost charts Jagos’ perspective of optimistic existentialism, his lovely cloud of a singing voice hovering over the proceedings and radiating emotional honesty.
Paradise Lost is the latest exciting chapter in Jagos’ career, which began in earnest as he experimented with his own productions in college back in 2009. After uploading a few of his early creations to MySpace, he quickly attracted prominent music blog attention from outlets like Pitchfork and No Pain in Pop and found himself amidst the style of electronic pop sometimes referred to as chillwave. “The music I was already making was fitting into that vibe,” he recalls.
He released two albums—2012’s Golden Years and Future Splendors in 2013—on electronic label Mush, which counts Bibio and Daedelus in its stable; in 2015, Jagos went full-on independent by self-releasing his third album, Out of Touch. Since then, he’s released a collection of Tears for Fears covers, Brothertiger Plays: Tears for Fears’ Songs from the Big Chair, as well as last year’s A Chain of Islands EP—but when it came to making his fourth full-length, Out of Touch loomed largest in his mind. “With Out of Touch I felt like I finally found the sound I was looking to achieve,” he explains. “I used that album as a springboard for this new record, carrying forward that style while making the sonic landscape sound bigger.”
Drawing from musical inspirations ranging from the aforementioned ’80s legends Tears for Fears to Talk Talk and Prefab Sprout, Jagos has constructed a glistening melodic web across Paradise Lost‘s ten tracks as he waxes philosophical on his current city of residence and the shifting nature of his own expectations. “I’ve definitely grown a lot while being here, but it’s grown a bit tiresome to me, too,” he reflects while discussing the central themes of Paradise Lost. “New York City’s lost a lot of its glimmer when it comes to music. It’s a lot harder to make music here now, with the shutting down of DIY venues and rent increases that make it harder for artists to cultivate something. A lot of this album is about my frustrations about possibly leaving the city, as well as my yearning to escape somewhere else—if not for a brief period of time, then maybe permanently.”
Over delightfully woozy synths and a pounding backbeat, “Livin’” addresses the malaise that’s affected every generation—specifically, the pressure to live up to those that came before you, and the power of your own decision-making. “There’s always underlying pressure to be achieving certain life goals at certain ages,” Jagos explains. “The song is about doing your own thing and not worrying about how other people think you’re living your life.” Accompanied by the type of beacon-esque synth work that recalls iconic electronic duo Boards of Canada, Paradise Lost‘s title track is a melancholic reflection on what happens when we properly take in the changing world around us. “The atmosphere isn’t the same that it used to be,” Jagos expresses while discussing the song’s lyrical bent. “When I moved here, I thought of this place as a paradise for the arts. And it’s still a great place to establish a foundation, but things are harder than they used to be, which is the natural progression of human existence.”
Elsewhere, the lovingly languid “My Canopy” finds Jagos reflecting on his own personal nirvana—a place in which, he explains, “I can be where I’m content with everything. The weather’s always good, and I’m making all the music that I want, while not worrying about finances. It’s a paradise, and it’s important to find your own place that can exist in your mind.” But Jagos is quick to point out that, according to the ethos he’s laid out on Paradise Lost, that place may not exist anywhere else—and there’s nothing wrong with that. “The place you call home is never going to be perfect, no matter how much you love it,” he ruminates. “Paradise doesn’t exist, and that’s okay. And even though it’s okay to keep searching for paradise, it’s also okay to accept things the way they are.”
Brothertiger
Paradise Lost
(Satanic Panic Recordings/self release)
[pre-order the LP here]
Street Date: September 11, 2020
Track List:
1. Found
2. Mainsail
3. Shelter Cove
4. Livin’
5. Cannonball
6. My Canopy
7. Swing
8. Checking Out
9. Pyre
10. Paradise Lost