Scottish singer Joesef released his long-anticipated debut album Permanent Damage on Friday 13, but he certainly wasn’t unlucky in listener responses.
The thirteen-track album contains soft-pop bangers and ballads, similar in sound to his previous EPs Play Me Something Nice, Does It Make You Feel Good?, and Just Come Home With Me Tonight.
The album opens with the moody synthetic title track Permanent Damage. The song twists as it goes on, gradually growing in darkness before it abruptly stops. It’s attention-grabbing, and soulful, and sets the tone for the album perfectly.
The album’s next track is the deceptively upbeat heartbreak anthem, It’s Been a Little Heavy Lately. Joesef tells the story of sneaking around at night with someone in a relationship with another. He’s in love and he knows it’s wrong, but he doesn’t want to hide anymore. The lyrics show this pining and desire with beautiful delicacy, creating a mental image as fully-formed as a film.
The album continues with these themes, bouncing between dance bops like Didn’t Know How (to Love You) and crying-under-the-covers tracks like Borderline.
It’s an incredibly strong album that Joesef has clearly taken his time in developing. He’s poured his heart and soul into this project and it’s resulted in a fantastic official debut.
This album will be followed by a UK and European tour, in which he’ll play two nights at the legendary Glasgow venue, Barrowland Ballroom.
Joesef is one to watch out for as he steadily climbs into the Hall of Scottish Fame, so it’s worth catching him at an intimate venue if you get the chance.
Feature Image Credit: @peephole on Instagram
Journalism and English Studies student with an interest in film & tv, music, and politics.
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