NYC’s self-styled “lofi jangle dream slacker bedroom pop” artist JW Francis is back with his third album ‘Dream House’ and will be touring it in the UK in a series of intimate gigs from the end of January, bringing him to Southampton’s Vinolo Record Store and Southsea’s Pie & Vinyl, both on February 6.
A laid-back and loved-up affair, it comprises 12 romantic tracks he has written on behalf of fans who have requested a special song for their Valentines (whittled down from more than 300 requests!). Expect blissful melodies, dreamy instrumentation and JW’s trademark laconic vocals. Recommended for fans of: Mac Demarco, Julian Casablancas, or Darwin Deez.
Title single “Dream House” is a hazy track, a sonic-VHS floating along the intersection of wistful-longing and gratitude – as JW explains:“Dream House is a song I wrote about missing loved ones and valuing other people above anything material. Specifically, I was missing my mom during quarantine – I lived all alone in a Brooklyn apartment for four months and I would have given anything to be with her.”
When JW isn’t writing songs about his own life or surreal imagery, he writes about other people – most notably around February when he writes Valentines songs on his fans’ behalf. ‘Dream House’ is built around this collection of glorious tracks written for other people.
JW explains: “Every year, about six weeks before Valentine’s Day, I make the following post on social media:
‘If you send me the name of your Valentine, and the reason you love them, I’ll write a song for them on your behalf.’
“That is how Dream House was born, three years ago. Over the past three years, I have received over 300 requests from fans to write songs for their loved ones. All of the songs on Dream House come from this project, some of them have been reworked to speak more to the artist’s life, others have remained exactly as they were first written. Ultimately, this is an album about caring for others, and the way we express it.”
Written and recorded at the start of 2021 in NYC, ‘Dream House’ takes cues from The Strokes, with hints of Lou Reed, Mac Demarco or Her’s however the project is still quintessential JW Francis. The blissful melodies and dreamy instrumentation perfectly fit the album’s title.
‘Dream House’ follows the hugely well received WANDERKID and We Share a Similar Joy in proving that JW is the king of laid-back and effortlessly cool song-making. Released on 27th January, the album will be available on both cream and Green vinyl, as well as CD (pre-order here).
Catch JW performing tracks and signing copies of the record at these upcoming in-store shows as follows:
Friday 27th January – Edinburgh – Assai
Saturday 28th January – Huddersfield – Vinyl Tap
Saturday 28th January – Leeds – Jumbo
Sunday 29th January – Liverpool – Jacaranda
Monday 30th January – Nottingham – Rough Trade
Tuesday 31st January – Bristol – Rough Trade*
Wednesday 1st February – London – Rough Trade
Thursday 2nd February – Letchworth – David’s
Friday 3rd February – Kingston – Banquet
Sunday 5th February – Oxford – Truck
Monday 6th February – Portsmouth – Pie & Vinyl
Monday 6th February – Southampton – Vinilo
- Tickets / Details: https://linktr.ee/JWFrancisInstoreTour
- Photo: by Eva Pentel
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