There’s a fine line between “genre-blending” and “throwing everything at the wall and hoping it sticks,” and on numbness is exhausting, Joho spends most of his time teetering on that edge — sometimes brilliantly, sometimes like he’s about to fall flat on his face. The mad thing is, when it works, it really bloody works.
Opening with Because, then Sometimes.1, you’re dropped straight into this hazy, almost dissociative headspace — lo-fi textures, introspective bars, and a sense that something’s already gone wrong before the album’s even properly started. It bleeds neatly into Amore, I wasn’t expecting flute, all glossy jazz hooks masking something a bit more knackered underneath. That contrast becomes a running theme: Joho wants you moving while quietly admitting he’s not alright.
Sometimes.2 feels like a fractured continuation rather than a sequel, tightening the emotional screws while keeping things rhythmically loose. Then If You’re Alright (Dancin’) kicks the door open — easily one of the most accessible moments here. Its industrial, It’s got that head-nod, late-night drive energy, and you can tell Joho understands hooks. Not just catchy for the sake of it, but hooks that carry emotional weight without turning into melodrama.
Come See About Me, and It’s Your Fault is where things get properly messy — in a good way. There’s a grungy undercurrent creeping in, synths scratching at the surface while the lyrics start pointing fingers, mostly inward. Valentine follows it with a bit more vulnerability, stripping things back just enough to stop the album from suffocating under its own production layers.
Then you hit Pocket Holy Priest, It’s ambitious, no doubt — grungy style bass flourishes, off-kilter structure — but it feels slightly overworked, like Joho couldn’t decide which version of the track he liked best and just kept all of them. Same goes, to a lesser extent, for closing track Iron Giant, which has moments of brilliance but drifts a bit too long without a clear payoff.
What Joho absolutely nails here is emotional honesty. There’s no bullshit, no over-polished “sad boy” aesthetic — this feels lived-in, properly human. The collaboration with 4d3n keeps things sonically interesting too; the production constantly shifts without completely losing its identity, which is harder to pull off than most give credit for.
But — and it’s a decent-sized “but” — the album could do with a bit of restraint. Not every idea needs to make the final cut, and at times it feels like Joho’s trying to prove how versatile he is rather than letting the songs breathe. A tighter edit would’ve turned this from a very good record into something genuinely great.
Still, for a tenth album on an independent run, this is seriously impressive. It’s bold, it’s messy, it’s occasionally frustrating — but it’s never boring. And in a world full of safe, algorithm-chasing releases, that counts for a hell of a lot.
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