Jack Garratt Picks Himself Up On New Album ‘Love, Death & Dancing’
After his impressive 2016 debut Phases, UK multi-instrumentalist Jack Garratt stepped back from music for three years. It was an unexpected move considering his Brits Choice Award win and his growing acclamation in his home country.
But this bright beginning turned into brutal self-reflection that left Garratt hating his music and dealing with crippling anxiety and self-doubt. His mind had turned against him and during a trip to the NYC with his fiancée at Christmas, something hit him:
“Somehow, in the middle of all this joy…all these things I’d wanted to do, with the woman I love, this overwhelming thought came into my head. It was the first time I’d ever truly contemplated suicide. I was so taken with this moment, within the joy that I was feeling; that still, despite that, this arrow was able to find a way through it all and hit me, directly, square between the eyes. I just broke down. No love for myself existed in that moment. It was just all self-loathing.”
But as is the case with many artists, this sparked something within Jack. He ended up writing “She Will Lay My Body on the Stone”, a heartbreaking, raw piano ballad about his struggles to find happiness. Then followed the rest of Love, Death, & Dancing: a no-holds barred collection of painful honesty and breathtaking catharsis that acts both as a musical journal and a proclamation of self-acceptance.
“The album was written from the point of view of someone who has a functioning sadness,” Jack says, “who has had his day-to-day depressions and anxieties that have influenced the decisions he’s made”.
He begins to open up about his anxiety and the looming pressure of success on the bitter-sweet banger “Better”: “Oh, if I can take something / To make me feel better than I’m feeling now / Then everything else will work itself out / Everything else will work itself out / Oh, if I can swallow something / Then people might like me better when I choke it down / And everything else will work itself out”.
This self-destructive chorus is soundtracked by one of the biggest hooks on the album, dancing away the insecurities before moving into the solemn “Doctor Please”, the latter coming across like a denser James Blake song, swapping layered electronic textures for Garratt’s stunning tenor singing about his mental health: “What if I’m not worthy enough to love you back? / But you say it’s fine not to be okay”.
This freehearted lyricism is what separates Garratt from his past and showcases his willingness to put everything into his music. “Why is not enough to be fine?” he asks on lead single “Time”, a question that reflects both his mental health and need for his career to constantly improve. “Time is on your side”, he reminds as his voice and looping production crescendos into an explosive dance number.
Most of the album touches on his mental health struggles over the past few years, but he has moments about heartbreak with “Mend A Heart”, facing temptation on “Mara”, and even racial injustice on “Only the Bravest”, but most fall short compared the rest of the track list. His strongest performances are when he is most vulnerable and profound, such as the previously mentioned hits, along with the self-doubting “Circles” or the mask of confidence of “Get In My Way”.
While Garratt’s ability to be so candid in his writing takes centerstage on the release, it cannot be forgotten that his multi-instrumentalist and production talents shine especially bright on Love, Death & Dancing. On his debut, Garratt found himself using the hair-raising builds and crashes of house beats and the gamut between shockwave bass lines and high-octave synthesizers and guitars to create euphoric musicality. Even during his live performances, he plays guitar, keys, drum pads, and sings simultaneously on stage using loops and the flexibility of electronic tools for an enthralling show that transferred over easily from the studio.
But Love, Death & Dancing seems to have replaced the need for showmanship and artful deception with intent and musical synergy. Emotion and power are created from his explicit openness that accentuates the vividness of his music in a whirlwind of emotion and dopamine-releasing production. He is even able to create a similar sensation doing the complete opposite: quietly crooning from an aged upright on “She Will Lay My Body On The Stone”.
“I think this is the first time I’ve felt proud of the songs I’ve made. I wrote this album as someone – and for anyone – who likes dancing but doesn’t necessarily want to go out on a Saturday. It’s dance music for people who don’t want to go out! And that’s the music that I love: music that doesn’t care if you’re standing up or sitting down. It’s going to give it to you either way.”
Amongst the flaws, pain, and bleak thoughts, Love, Death & Dancing will make you want to dance, breath deeply, and cry. Sometimes all at once.
Notable tracks: “Better” // “Time” // “She Will Lay My Body On the Stone”
Stream the album below:
