Toronto indie artist j ember drops “Who Loves You”
RIYL: Djo, Current Joys, Briston Maroney, Declan McKenna, Good Morning
Reverie’s resident indie fangirl is back at it again, and this time I’ll be ranting about “Who Loves You” by j ember. I just discovered j ember on my “Discover Weekly” playlist on Spotify. The first track I heard was “Lower Than Low,” from his 2020 EP, Sleepwalking and when I heard his sound, I instantly knew I needed to keep tabs on j ember. As an alt-rock indie fangirl, I love discovering new music that I know I’ll keep on repeat for hours and hours on end. j ember hails from Toronto, Ontario, and is known to mesh both indie-rock and indie-folk into his music.
Listening to “Who Loves You” which dropped on Sept 20th. I have had the single on repeat for the past half hour, and even as I write this the track is blasting into my ears. Right off the bat, all I can say is wow. The track starts out slow, with light guitars and “muted” sounding drums in the background. My first impression of this track when I first heard it was “I like the guitars.”
I wanna talk about the lyrics, the lyrics for the track are as follows:
LYRICS FOR THE TRACK
you change your politics
three times since last September
I used to know you well
or do you not remember
summer ‘19 on the hot concrete
used to roll one up coffee cup
gold teeth mint gum
wash it down with liquor
had me at hello had me off my feet
when I went back home
guess I missed a beat let go
I never make the effort
who loves you now
I thought you came around
when you lied to him
did you play it down
who loves you
oh who loves you now
I was an optimistic
wide eyed fool go figure
you told me don’t talk down boy
I ain’t no beginner anything goes
it’s a low plateau
buying coke buying clothes
with the Vyvanse that you sold
you said it made you better
who loves you now
I thought you came around
when you lied to him
did you play it down
who loves you
oh who loves you now
Originally, I thought of this track to be some sort of self-reflection of a past relationship or scrolling through the social media of someone you were in a relationship with. A bittersweet situation seeing your ex-partner on social media, maybe they have a new partner. I know for me, when I saw my ex with his new partner I was aggravated and also relieved. Why I felt these emotions I will never have answers for, but as I listened to “Who Loves You” it almost felt as this song reflected that feeling of seeing an ex on social media.
Now, I run Reverie’s Instagram, and every now and then I’ll follow many of the artists I listen to on the account, or even tag them on our pieces. When I posted j ember’s snippet of “Who Loves You” on Instagram, he reposted it and I can’t lie I screamed and fangirled a bit. Then I realized I could probably ask him about his single & how it came to be. Shoutout j ember, you’re a real one for providing this for me. Lots of love <3
“Who Loves You” reminisces on a summer that felt like a fever dream. We wanted the music to match the mood; dreamy shoegaze guitars and a hazy violin, all parts propelling the narrative forward. Matt Kahane and I were listening to a lot of Yeule, My Bloody Valentine & Mac Miller’s “Swimming/Circles”
Lyrically it feels like a conversation, whether it’s a reflection or a rant to someone else. We’ve all been in situations where the end has always been “Wow, I wish this ended differently” or “Bring me back!” We all reminisce about events in our past, and I feel like “Who Loves You” thoroughly encapsulates that idea.
To close off, I know this is meant to be a “review” but I feel like it became a “drop my emotions I felt while I listened to this song” situation. I mean, there’s nothing wrong with that. I have nothing to critique about the song. If I enjoyed it first off the bat, I probably won’t critique it until I have played it hundreds of times.”Who Loves You” by j ember truly struck a chord with me. I don’t know if it added to my teenage angst, for all I know I just wanted to be emo in the moment. I never know.
For the perfect driving song, or if you’re stuck in your feels, I say add “Who Loves You” to your playlist and call it an evening. A sit outside or lay in your bed and blast the song. “Who Loves You” by j ember truly encapsulates the feeling of missing someone.
Listen to the track below <3
Follow j ember on social media through his Linktree