james K - Friend

james K
Friend
AD 93
USA/UK, 2025
2LP (Clear Vinyl)

Pretty amazing new one from NYC’s james K, blending shoegaze textures with hazy downtempo production—like a dream sequence where the bedroom melts into the club. Top it off with ethereal heart-in-the-mouth vocals and just-casual-enough pop hooks, and you’ve got one to come back to often, not so much to absorb it as to be absorbed.

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FROM THE LABEL:

a𝓈𝓀 𝓂𝑒 𝒶𝒷𝑜𝓊𝓉 𝓂𝓎 𝒹𝓇𝑒𝒶𝓂𝓈. 

You leave her a voicemail and everyone hears it. A version of james K slides through the valueless material “real” with fists full of melancholic ecstasy. Song collapses the unending mist around us, in a world of intensity and pain, confusion and loss, like a lung filling playfully, that makes us more sensitive, opens more wounds, to lay a path for mutual mending. She plucks a coiling, gaseous halo from the air, steadying the tempest with lulling, heaven-kissed sounds, and comes as a balm to our desperate hearts with her timeless offering, 𝘍𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘯𝘥- to make some light of this gum pink fog.

✶

𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘳𝘶𝘱𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘦 𝘪𝘴 𝘧𝘪𝘭𝘭𝘦𝘥 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘴𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘥𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘢 𝘵𝘳𝘢𝘯𝘴𝘭𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘪𝘴 𝘮𝘢𝘥𝘦 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘣𝘭𝘢𝘻𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘳𝘭𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘵𝘰 𝘩𝘢𝘳𝘮𝘰𝘯𝘺 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘸𝘦𝘢𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳. 𝘓𝘢𝘪𝘥 𝘥𝘰𝘸𝘯 𝘪𝘯 𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘴𝘪𝘭𝘬𝘦𝘯 𝘥𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘮𝘴, 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘵𝘳𝘪𝘱𝘱𝘦𝘥 𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘧𝘭𝘰𝘸𝘴 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘥𝘶𝘣𝘣𝘦𝘥 𝘧𝘰𝘰𝘵𝘱𝘢𝘵𝘩, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘥𝘴 𝘸𝘦𝘵, 𝘸𝘦 𝘳𝘰𝘰𝘵 𝘥𝘰𝘸𝘯. 𝘏𝘦𝘳 𝘷𝘰𝘪𝘤𝘦 𝘧𝘢𝘥𝘦𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘨𝘢𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘴 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘱𝘭𝘢𝘤𝘦, 𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘸𝘦 𝘩𝘰𝘭𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘰𝘧 𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘣𝘰𝘥𝘪𝘦𝘴 𝘢𝘨𝘢𝘪𝘯𝘴𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘱𝘦𝘢𝘬𝘦𝘳 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘪𝘮𝘦, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘭𝘦𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘳𝘪𝘱𝘱𝘭𝘦𝘴 𝘨𝘪𝘷𝘦 𝘶𝘴 𝘱𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘴𝘶𝘳𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘷𝘪𝘴𝘪𝘰𝘯. 𝘚𝘱𝘪𝘯 𝘴𝘭𝘰𝘸𝘭𝘺 𝘢𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘰𝘱𝘦𝘯 𝘢𝘪𝘳 𝘳𝘰𝘰𝘮, 𝘥𝘳𝘪𝘱𝘱𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘶𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘳𝘵𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘸𝘰 𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘵𝘴, 𝘵𝘰 𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘢𝘳𝘮𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘰𝘧 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘴𝘶𝘯 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘦 𝘢𝘤𝘳𝘰𝘴𝘴 𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘥𝘦𝘦𝘱 𝘤𝘰𝘭𝘥 𝘴𝘱𝘢𝘤𝘦.

𝘚𝘩𝘦 𝘧𝘭𝘪𝘦𝘴 𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘷𝘢𝘱𝘰𝘳 𝘸𝘩𝘪𝘳𝘭𝘱𝘰𝘰𝘭 𝘧𝘦𝘦𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘤𝘦𝘭𝘦𝘴𝘵𝘪𝘢𝘭 𝘣𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘬𝘥𝘰𝘸𝘯 𝘳𝘪𝘴𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘴𝘭𝘪𝘱, 𝘮𝘢𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘳𝘰𝘰𝘮 𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘢𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘥 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘴𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘰𝘶𝘵, 𝘴𝘪𝘨𝘯𝘢𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘥𝘢𝘺𝘴 𝘵𝘰 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘨𝘰 𝘪𝘯 𝘱𝘦𝘢𝘤𝘦. 𝘈𝘯𝘥 𝘴𝘵𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘸𝘦 𝘧𝘪𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘷𝘦𝘯 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘵𝘩 𝘥𝘰𝘯’𝘵 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘮𝘦𝘢𝘯 𝘦𝘯𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩, 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘯 𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘴𝘱𝘦𝘢𝘬 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘢𝘮𝘦. 𝘐𝘵’𝘴 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘴𝘦 𝘥𝘪𝘴𝘵𝘪𝘭𝘭𝘦𝘥 𝘮𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘴 𝘸𝘦 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘴𝘵𝘳𝘶𝘤𝘵 𝘢 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘭𝘪𝘵𝘺, 𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘯𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘰 𝘭𝘪𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘯 𝘲𝘶𝘪𝘦𝘵𝘭𝘺 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘷𝘰𝘪𝘤𝘦𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘤𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘪𝘯 𝘳𝘦𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘯. 𝘈 𝘬𝘪𝘴𝘴, 𝘢 𝘧𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘯𝘥, 𝘢 𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘪𝘯 𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘥, 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘶𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘶𝘯𝘵𝘪𝘭 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘴 𝘥𝘪𝘴𝘢𝘱𝘱𝘦𝘢𝘳. 𝘐𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘮𝘦𝘵𝘳𝘰𝘯𝘰𝘮𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘤𝘢𝘵’𝘴 𝘵𝘢𝘪𝘭, 𝘦𝘳𝘢𝘴𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘥𝘪𝘯𝘨, 𝘸𝘦 𝘧𝘪𝘯𝘥 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘴𝘰𝘯𝘴 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘭𝘰𝘷𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘭𝘪𝘧𝘦. 

𝘙𝘪𝘧𝘧𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘨𝘭𝘰𝘳𝘺 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘣𝘪𝘵𝘵𝘦𝘳-𝘴𝘸𝘦𝘦𝘵 𝘤𝘩𝘰𝘳𝘢𝘭𝘴, 𝘵𝘳𝘪𝘭𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘰𝘯𝘢𝘯𝘵, 𝘴𝘰𝘶𝘳𝘤𝘦 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘶𝘣-𝘻𝘦𝘪𝘵; 𝘪𝘵'𝘴 𝘢 𝘥𝘦𝘦𝘱𝘦𝘳 𝘴𝘦𝘯𝘴𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘦𝘮𝘰𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘸𝘦 𝘵𝘳𝘢𝘷𝘦𝘭 𝘵𝘩𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘴𝘱𝘢𝘤𝘦 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩. 𝘈𝘯𝘥 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘣𝘭𝘪𝘴𝘴𝘧𝘶𝘭 𝘴𝘦𝘲𝘶𝘦𝘯𝘤𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘪𝘯 𝘳𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘦, 𝘸𝘦 𝘳𝘦𝘤𝘰𝘨𝘯𝘪𝘻𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘰𝘯𝘪𝘤 𝘷𝘪𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘴 𝘵𝘰 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩 𝘶𝘴. 𝘐𝘵’𝘴 𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘴𝘮𝘪𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘴𝘭𝘪𝘥𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘣𝘢𝘤𝘬𝘸𝘢𝘳𝘥𝘴, 𝘧𝘭𝘰𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘥𝘳𝘪𝘧𝘵 𝘰𝘧 𝘤𝘳𝘪𝘤𝘬𝘦𝘵 𝘤𝘪𝘳𝘤𝘶𝘪𝘵𝘳𝘺, 𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘴𝘢𝘺 𝘵𝘰 𝘮𝘦 “𝘪𝘴 𝘪𝘵 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘭?” 𝘚𝘩𝘦 𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘷𝘦𝘴 𝘶𝘴 𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘴𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘥𝘴 𝘧𝘭𝘪𝘤𝘬𝘦𝘳 𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘢𝘴𝘵𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘰𝘶𝘤𝘩, 𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘴𝘩𝘢𝘥𝘰𝘸𝘴 𝘴𝘱𝘢𝘳𝘬𝘭𝘦 𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘰 𝘤𝘰𝘭𝘰𝘳, 𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘳-𝘬𝘪𝘴𝘴𝘦𝘥 𝘤𝘭𝘰𝘶𝘥𝘴 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘦 𝘥𝘰𝘸𝘯 𝘭𝘪𝘬𝘦 𝘥𝘰𝘰𝘳𝘸𝘢𝘺𝘴.