The new LP from Safety Town – the project of Chicagoan musician Jackson Davis – titled ‘Fake It’ officially drops tomorrow, but we here at PopWrapped are delighted to premiere it today.
The album was written using an entrancing synth-pop palette, making each track utterly earworm-worthy and perfect for a warm, summer day, despite the cold front that we’re experiencing in reality. The record’s final track, “Only A Dream” begins with rhythmical, danceable loops recalling LCD Soundsystem and builds into a layered, synth-centric ambiance a la Washed Out. On it, Davis offers some brutally honest, but wise words that seem both personal and universal, especially after a year of locking down: “We’re alone and alive/It’s kind of surreal.” This is a common theme expressed throughout the record – alongside sickeningly sweet indie-pop sensibilities, Davis paves the way for introspective moments of clarity.
Davis shares that the collection: “…was mostly inspired by my experiences in my 20s, processing stress, change, and the loss of individuals in my life. While I often found myself getting down thinking about a lot of this, by trying to package these feelings into accessible and at times pop-inspired songs, it really helped me process things and feel proud of an ability to package darker subject matter in a light-hearted way. Musically, I had been listening to a large number of artists, but Animal Collective, LCD Soundsystem, New Order, MGMT, Washed Out, and many others were key influences.
He goes on to add of the creative and recording process: “Aside from some mixing help from Chris Mathien, drums on ‘Sunshine’ from Jake Besen, and guitar parts by Duncan Reilly on ‘Fake It’ and ‘Sunshine,’ this album was written and produced by myself in my Chicago apartment. I had slowly become more and more obsessed with the world of modular synthesizers and unique sound design as I was writing this, which leads to many songs having a more traditional structure but with added textural and ambient elements from synths. Recording this taught me so much about ways to push my recording techniques, get more confident with vocals, and put together many seemingly disparate styles.
Asked about the kind of album he wanted to create and how it ultimately turned out, he admits: “The album felt very disjointed at first, with me writing a ton of songs and choosing between them. But when I picked out the songs I liked most, I realized they all had this common theme of expressing how I’ve generally felt navigating my 20s. We are confronted by so much change and it really gets hammered in how our reactions to events influence our lives. We are really in control of what we do and it is up to us to figure out how to process the world and find meaning. The album was definitely a cathartic experience and in writing it allowed me to process a lot of the feelings I’ve had lately.
On one hand, I tried to present a very melodic album with a large number of instruments and synthesizer tones in a way that still lies in the indie pop realm. When listening to the lyrics, there is definitely a lot of darker subject matter, but I wanted to show people that it’s ok to and even necessary to at times to constantly strive for that idealistic state we all are seeking. Sometimes, we need to feign happiness for our own sake and progress, and often times in doing so, we actually get closer to that ideal state.”
Give ‘Fake It’ a listen above and for more information on Safety Town, visit Instagram or check out Jackson’s Facebook page.
