Track by Track: jak lvr - 'Call It Love (If You Want To)’
Teesside indie artist jak lvr has just released his new EP ‘Call It Love (If You Want To)’. He took a moment to talk to us about it - track by track.
The full EP is a reflection on my own insecurities, I always question myself, the things I do, the thoughts I think and so on. I think, without trying to be too cynical, we all live under a level of hypocrisy and an ever-present awareness of that leads to a lot of my own self doubt which I try to explore on various different levels in the EP.
Still - I used 'Still' to kick off the EP because I wanted to begin with the largest, loudest point so that I could reign it in over the course of the tracklist and gradually present something more vulnerable. It's written to reflect my tendency to try to escape difficult situations, choosing to ignore, and cut loose rather than resolve. It's a problem I have and I know it.
Call It Love (If You Want To) - This is my favourite track on the EP, which is why it became the title track. This was an exploration of how suffocated I can feel when something as non-absolute as emotions are expected of me. Would my uncertainty make me a liar? Or is that part of the construct and I'm misunderstanding? This isn't just about love, it's about a myriad of things.
Take A Ride - Now this track is an attempt to be less heavy. It's a track that says 'yes there's flaws, but it could work because there's something pure and real there'. I like the sentiment and it's something I try to do as much as possible, as someone who's naturally cynical an attempt to block out the noise and focus on the right things helps a lot.
Never See Me Cry - This track is emblematic of one of my favourite ways to write. Taking negative lyrics and exploring my problematic tendencies in a sickly sweet pop song. I think sometimes it's easier to do that. If It's presented as a bit of fun the scrutiny seems somewhat diflected. Never see me cry is about how I don't want to be outwardly emotional about some things all the time and even though there's a huge push to squeeze that mindset out of society because it causes more issues than it solves. For me it's not that easy and I'm not sure I want to, no matter how much I acknowledge that I shouldn't think like that.
F.E.T.S - This was written after I'd finished the rest of the EP. I wrote it in no time at all and I loved it so much I felt compelled to include it. I love old films and so I use that to explore how I'm so emotionally incapable sometimes little things trigger me. The idea of getting attached through something so trivial is lame and pathetic but also 100% something I could see myself doing. I also managed to put in a lot of easter egg references to various films as well so that made me feel far smarter than I actually am.