For a maiden voyage, Goon was a glitzy affair, studded with famous producers. Shine takes a different tack. Sure, Justin Vernon and Danielle Haim show up on a couple of cuts, but as songwriters, not performers. They seem to switch places with Jesso, a self-conscious gesture that speaks to the disc’s intentions: A drama without any set decoration, the 29-minute album blurs cast and crew, letting the curtain flutter open to reveal the backstage. It wouldn’t work if the songs themselves weren’t so powerful—quaking, earnest, and awash in apparently unfussy ambience. This may be Jesso’s unplugged album, but close listens reveal that his refurbished Steinway isn’t so unadorned. There’s the shudder of an open hi-hat in the background of “Waiting Around” and “Green Eyes” that gives each track a faint backbone, while “Black Magic” has flashes of a muted electronic phrase that follows the main melody—same with “Rain.”
Ultimately, Jesso scrawls all over his own artwork, summoning the bruising final phase of alt-rockers Low more than any gentle predecessors. A high-decibel drum part, performed by his friend Kane Ritchotte, pummels the sentimental chords and vocal fry of centerpiece “I Love You.” Its entrance is tentative, yet so loud and blown out it feels overwhelming, particularly arriving this deep into such a subdued album, and soon the drums consume the track. Such a peak feels at once like a romantic scar and a recognition of the studio’s power, demonstrating how a simple rhythm can swallow these woebegone, angsty songs whole. We’re aware of the vulnerability of the songwriter and the brute force of the accompaniment—both aspects are emphasized in their stark juxtaposition.
Closer “Lullabye” reduces the boil of “I Love You” to a light simmer of cymbals. “Don’t you know you have to break apart/To really Shine?” Jesso coos. He may be moving on, but the point is what brought him there: his life and his songwriting practice smashing into shards. That he lets us see the pieces, instead of filling in the cracks, makes this portrait feel bracing and true.
