‘grendel’ is JOBIE’s melancholic, sonic storytelling at its absolute best (and saddest)
By Karenna Umscheid
Josie Arthur (she/they), known professionally as JOBIE, released her debut album “grendel” on January 6th, a release she described as “my own personal insurrection.” Known for depressingly lovely music and their gorgeous voice, JOBIE is a frequent performer on the Emerson campus and in the underground Boston scene, performing at launch parties, (including the Milk Crate zine launch!) house shows in Allston, sustainable swap events, and opening for Sidney Gish at the WECB live show last spring. She’s released two singles from the album thus far, “bottom of the sea” and “cruel vice,” growing immense anticipation for her debut album. The eight-track album is beautiful, with romantic and heartbreaking lyrical storytelling that is stomach-dropping sad, deeply personal, and profoundly relatable. Composed of iridescent lyricism and raw, gorgeous vocals, “grendel” is a magical and charming debut album of stunning sad girl folk, a promising first entry into JOBIE’s discography.
The opening track “take my coat” is a plunge headfirst into the vivid, melancholic songwriting that has been threaded through JOBIE’s existing discography.he song is supplemented sonically by a chorus of chirping birds and an acoustic guitar, accompanying the lyrics “And I wouldn’t mind spending my whole life / In reclining chairs just watching the people pass by / I’m in my element, I felt it one time.” JOBIE finds solace in what seems stale, as their ache for love seems to intersect with a lust for life, a desire for something, for anything. The lyrics “I’m a girl in my prime / Oh god let me feel it this time” had been pulled from somewhere deep in a collective sad girl subconscious, so deeply personal and powerful. They encapsulate a desire not just for love, but for love as time slips away– as the fresh face of youth begins to tarnish.
The second track,“all is well,” is laced with regret, as JOBIE colorfully reflects on a love that was pure fallacy, enriching heartbreak with vivid descriptions as she sings “I’m digging my own grave / And your resentment hits me like a tidal wave.” The sadness is cut with scissors of self-awareness in her lyricism, and the light acoustic instrumentation adds to her melancholy, soft percussion supplementing the forlorn melody. Her heartbreak comes out in the lyrics “And I’m a sorry dancer / with a moon in cancer / and you’ve gotten under my skin / and all the ghosts are gone now / they got up and walked out / I’m still dancin,’” but so does her resilience, her heart fortified and her eyes, though stained by saltwater, are dry.
“bottom of the sea,” which was released as a single on November 25, 2022, fits flawlessly into the album, conveying JOBIE’s prowess for musical metaphor, as her melody of heartbreak is depicted in adventures to the bottom of the sea and the center of the earth. On TikTok, they promoted this song with text saying “respectfully i made this song for people that hate themselves.” With Spotify streams climbing and climbing, it seems they have lodged themself confidently into this melodramatic and sad girl demographic, one that includes myself.
The album journeys from the bottom of the sea to pits of absolute depression with “so clean,” a piano ballad for loneliness itself to slow dance to. as. The slow, melodic piano follows JOBIE as she sings “You must look down on me / I’m not what you thought I’d be,” lyrics so painful they hit like a knife to the gut. The somber piano notes delicately blend with the background vocals to perfectly highlight her stunning voice, making for a haunting melody with lyricism soaked in desolation, creating a beautiful, heartbreaking listen.
JOBIE adds a flavorful dash of country twang to her melancholy folk album with the lively and fun “dead wrong.” They resurrect a heart completely in shambles after “so clean,” seamlessly following music to throw up and cry to with music to dance(and also cry to). “dead wrong” has the makings of a classic country track, with JOBIE’s signature folksy guitar and honey-spun vocals. It’s a lively meditation on a past relationship, laden with self-awareness, but not regretful or steeped in an insurmountable hole of heartbreak. The fast-paced, jovial chorus “Gave you half of my heart so you could keep it / In your desk drawer like you don’t need it / Say you love me like you don’t mean it” invites the listener to dance through the heartbreak, move on from the pain and look back from the dance floor, without attachment or longing.
Track six is JOBIE’s most recent single “cruel vice,” which has found itself in my “On Repeat” for the past few weeks, the song is a perfect accompaniment to aimless wintertime hometown drives. The lyric “Kicking myself remembering what happened / Tried to replay like it didn’t but it did” echoes her theme of regretful self-awareness, the perils of moving on. “cruel vice” is effortlessly charming and folksy, from the soft countoff throughout the track until the guitar strumming stops.
The penultimate track,“irish goodbye” is a fan favorite, previously performed at various JOBIE shows and campus launch parties. The production showcases their vocal talent so beautifully, traversing through her wide vocal range, with the heart and passion they have in all of their songs. The lyrics “I’ll make it easy for you / You’ll never see me again / I guess I’ll just ignore you / And we don’t have to be friends” showcase the Irish goodbye at the core of the song, not just of leaving a party but of leaving a lover with no closure. Though at the end, they offer a chance to remember them, repeating the lyric “Take a polaroid” as the track closes out, they encourage the lover to take a single picture, all they will have left of them. The track enhances at the end, when the lead vocals collide with background, and the folksy acoustic instrumentation comes to a soft crescendo, followed by a decrescendo to close the song. The voices all fade slowly through the end of the track, like the voices of a party fade out as one walks out the door, quiet and alone.
“to this day (grendel)” is perhaps JOBIE’s most personal track, which says a lot, as the musician is known for her autobiographical, honest sonic storytelling. It’s so sad that my heart dropped when I listened to the lyrics “I’d watch you watch me with those hollow eyes / Every night / I’d reach for you through darkness every time / I was blind.” It’s a meditation on JOBIE’s childhood, and the shaping of her personhood, and the grasping through the pitch-black darkness, towards someone that is not there. Every single line is heart-wrenching, enhanced by her raw, vulnerable vocal talent. The final lyric, of the track and of the album, is “I’m overcorrecting now that I’m older / I carry the weight of the world on my shoulders / The axe in my back left me black and blue / To this day.” Her past follows her and courses her actions, her own invisible hand of heartbreak.
“grendel” is a musical journey through the past, through old relationships, heartbreaks, and moving on. JOBIE dives deep, into oceans lyrical and metaphorical, and emerges on the other side fresh and clean. Listening to “grendel” has put me through the five stages of grief, if those stages are crying, shaking, dancing, throwing up, and crying again. With lively yet melancholic folksy production that supports her singing in every lyric and vocal run, JOBIE’s musical talent is fully showcased.
In this album review I should note that JOBIE is a friend of mine. In one of our first conversations I told her that I had listened to her music and really enjoyed “All for One.” They later told me “I’m really glad you like ‘All for One,’ that song is slept on.” I thought it was such an honest and funny thing to say, and since then I have admired so much her deep love for art, and her innate magnetism towards colorful, raw lyricism and magical production. It’s evident not just in their discography but in conversations with them, and in their mind and self. I am constantly blown away by her talent and creativity, and I jump at the opportunity to review every new piece of music she makes. And even if I did not know them personally, I have no doubt that I would have been just as in love with this independent folk eight-track album as I am now. “grendel” is a spectacular debut album, with heartbreaking lyricism and phenomenal production; it’s music that is both the present and the future of indie folk, of undeniably stellar singing and songwriting.