Jasmine.4.t releases her debut album ‘You Are the Morning’ via Phoebe Bridgers’ Saddest Factory Records on 17 January. Produced by boygenius, the album is a celebration of queer friendship and how it helped Jasmine deal with the lack of acceptance shown towards her after coming out as trans…
There’s a very introspective sound as almost hushed thoughts are delivered on album opener ‘Kitchen’. This may be due to remembering some of the comments made to her in the past: ‘Who even made you this way? Who could even want this?’ ‘Skin on Skin’ follows with a more lustful nature and emo tendencies – ‘Can you taste my pulse inside your cheek?’ – before ‘Highfield’ recalls early Perfume Genius with its harmonies and fragile falsetto.
‘Breaking in Reverse’ has mental health front and center (‘There’s a million black dogs in my head and they’re fighting with my heart’) before self-examination takes over: ‘Maybe I’m too quick at replying?’. ‘Best Friend’s House’ is about finding acceptance for who you are with your loved ones – ‘There I am safe even if they are awake’ – while the fantastically titled ‘Guy Fawkes Tesco Dissociation’ combines the personal touch of Conor Oberst’s solo work with a guest appearance from Phoebe Bridgers and a healthy dose of cathartic screaming.
‘Tall Girl’ leans into a quirky art rock sound while recent single ‘Elephant’ is all about looking forward with its mantra of ‘Now I have a future, it’s never too late’. This continues through to the closing song, ‘Woman’: ‘I am in my body, a woman. I am, in my soul, a woman’. Sing it loud and proud, Jasmine.
