Jacob Tell is back with Hard to Be Human and it surely is one of those albums that keeps shifting under your feet. Just when I thought I had a grip on where he was going musically, the next track would pull me somewhere else entirely. There’s a strong sense that each song lives in its own little world and I really liked that nothing here feels boxed into one sound or formula.
The album opens with the title track, “Hard to Be Human” and it jumps straight in with this unusual guitar-and-drums structure that immediately caught my attention. It doesn’t ease you in at all, which I appreciated. At first, I was a bit thrown off by how loud Jacob’s voice sits in the mix, but the more I listened, the more it actually worked. It makes the whole thing feel confrontational in a good way, like he’s forcing you to listen.
“Zero Street” feels more traditional in comparison, which makes it easier to focus on the lyrics. It’s a calmer moment early on and works nicely as a reset after that intense opener. Then “You Know How This Ends” completely messed with my head in the best way. That ticking sound over the guitar is clever and genuinely confusing. I honestly thought it was coming from somewhere in my flat at first. I even started to assume it was going to be an instrumental track, so when the vocals finally came in after more than a minute, I was weirdly disappointed… even though the song itself is really strong.
“Cracks Appearing All Around” brought in big Americana vibes and is easily one of the catchiest moments on the album. It’s one of those songs that makes you nod along without realising it. “Cool as a Customer” and “Shutdown” both have cool titles and solid ideas, but neither fully stood out to me. These tracks felt more like album glue than big moments.
“I’m Not With Her” is where things clicked again for me. The unusual structure comes back and I loved it. There are proper Groover vibes here and Jacob really plays with the tone of his voice, like he’s acting out a story rather than just singing it.
Then, “Slips Too Easy” didn’t leave a huge impression on me overall but I loved the ending, with Jacob’s voice stretching out and weighing down the final moments of the song. “Trad Wife” stood out lyrically straight away, especially with lines like “There’s no easy way to live your life / hysteria / anorexia / no place today for a trad wife”. It’s blunt, uncomfortable and kind of fascinating.
“So Much of the Time” brings back that playful storyteller energy again. Closing track “Names of the Dead” isn’t my favourite ending, though. It didn’t give me the emotional wrap-up I was hoping for after such a varied and interesting journey.
Overall, some tracks hit harder than others but I really enjoyed how unpredictable it is and how willing Jacob Tell is to mess with structure, tone and expectations. Even when I didn’t necessarily love a track, I was never bored and that counts for a lot.
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