Jolé - “This City”
Photo: Natalie Michele
London-based indie-folk singer Jolé has just released his new single, “This City.” The track begins with a no-frills acoustic guitar and piano and it’s as if you’re overhearing an intimate performance from another room; there’s no thick reverberation or other effects that would make you think otherwise. Then Jolé’s vocal begins and the song takes its true form– still intimate, yet spaciously decorated with raw, echoing emotion.
The vibe is one of a melancholy introspection, as the lyrics describe a once familiar city and how everything seems different without the people around. It’s like that feeling you get when you drive back to your hometown and pass landmarks filled with memories, wishing you’d kept up with old friends, wondering where they are now, realizing time waits for no one.
The beat joins in at about the one-minute mark and though this song widens in its sonic space, it remains as personal as it did in the beginning. Not only does “This City” serve its purpose by conjuring the feelings of one’s personal nostalgia, but it would also fit quite well in a playlist reserved for the drive back home– just in time for those about to make the trek for the holidays.
About the track, Jolé adds: “This song is based on living somewhere that holds a lot of memories with a person who isn’t there anymore. I tried to explain the feeling of how a place can change so drastically when you have been so used to having them around. It feels different now and do you stay and overcome those feelings or do you go.”
-TM