We are excited to share the new single from Los Angeles psych icon Joel Jerome. He made a name for himself as the frontman and mastermind behind indie outfit Dios (Malos), who Pitchfork described as making California’s pop less predictable.

His solo work traffics in the dusty, sepia tones of music that could only be made in LA’s desert haze, and the bands (Cherry Glazerr, Froth, La Sera, etc) he’s had a hand in producing have carried this torch to critical acclaim.

Last month, Buzzbands premiered his new video for “There’s Nothing Here to Bother You Anymore”, and helped us announced his joining Dangerbird‘s Microdose Series. The video is directed by Steve Hanft, who directed the lo-fi Elliott Smith documentary Strange Parallel and shot Beck‘s “Loser” video, and follows a day in the life with Jerome and his bulldog as they wander through LA’s sun-baked parking lots. 

 The dreamlike “It Will Feel Good To Die”, is accompanied by a self-directed video starring Jerome and his pet bearded dragon. 

Joel Jerome on the single and video :

The song itself is actually one of my oldest songs written while living in Berkeley California in 1998 during probably my most intensely prolific period to date. I worked 6 days a week 9:30 to 5:30 at Berkeley Bowl but found time almost every night beginning around 10 pm to write and record in my bedroom till around 3 am. This song feels like it must’ve been inspired by Ok Computer, possibly a combination of Exit Music, The Tourist, and the middle section of Paranoid Android since I fell asleep nightly to that album during that period. I remember my initial demos were done with my first time singing into my roommate’s analogue delay pedal and being completely taken by the eerie atmosphere it was helping to create (did not smoke pot yet!). The lyrics were just filler at first but I eventually kept them as is and used the lines more like a chant, maybe a mantra you would say to yourself in your final moments. the most memorable part of writing this song was trying my hardest to find and perform a cool 2 part harmony for the intro and outro that really did the song justice and I’m pretty happy with the result.

The video was the first one I’ve done by myself and of course, it stars my lovely Lenoramore bearded dragon. she’s just awesome to look at and I felt I wanted to do something simple based on the atmospheric vibey sound of the song and just get slow-motion shots of my little girl in her most primal state while eating and being still, two things she constantly does. I wanted simple, classic, scenic shots that felt right with the tone of the song. I shot it in widescreen and colour graded it to give the video a cinematic film-like look.

The music of Joel Jerome is a walk­down through the transient spaces of the heart, where the ebb and flow, the tug and pull, and the catch and release of life’s longings echo in reverberations of consciousness. Joel masterfully weaves lyrics that guide listeners through universal questions and observations about love, loyalty, loss, and learning how to navigate the twists and intersections of everyday life. By mixing instrumental volume with vocal layering, Joel explores interior spaces, at times drawing listeners into a venue with high­vaulted ceilings, filled with voices of praise for the unknown, only to be left standing alone and uncertain of anything.

There is a familiar feeling expressed in his music that bridges the gap between personal and shared experience, filled with moments of meeting and departing. It creates a safe space to communicate what is sometimes difficult to express, those pieces of ourselves that motivate our decisions but are not always clear until much later, while simultaneously making the space accessible and easy to belong in. Joel Jerome builds safety in the arms of his productions and promises to be all you ever wanted.