Jo Passed – Away

Starting over can always be daunting. Through lots of trial and error, Away, the second LP from Jo Hirabayashi—the multi-instrumentalist and producer behind Canada’s Jo Passed—offers a glimpse into his ever-changing mind that justifies the eight-year-long wait. What links Hirabayashi’s knotty musical detours together is his willingness to retain an adventurous tone without diluting its overall flow. While he credits his patience as a big factor in letting loose creatively, Hirabayashi has stayed in the game long enough to learn new things about himself.

One such lesson he’s learned is that progress is rarely linear, which, as “Too Much Thought” suggests, can push you to the brink of sanity. “Another trance/another lost day/perpetual fog,” he reflects, letting his thoughts unravel over busy, arpeggiated guitar lines and jerky violin ostinato that mimic his feeling of unease.

As one might expect from him, Hirabayashi invites a sense of curiosity in the way he constructs his heady arrangements. His frantic instrumental flourishes emerge early in “Precious Word.” What begins as a controlled interplay of jarring chords and complex drum patterns launches into furious punk, where he ultimately lets go of the tension with impressionistic non sequiturs: “All such vocab in my control/Sew new labels, keep it fashionable.” Meanwhile, he draws inspiration from the Pixies’ offbeat melodic contours on “Dizzy Izzy,” sustaining a steady, bass-driven groove before culminating in an electrifying crescendo of wailing guitars.

But leaving all that aside, Away is also just infectiously catchy. One might even call it a classic indie rock album through and through, which, while not fashionable stateside, is a term that still holds meaning for bands in the Great White North. Take the sax-flecked “339,” which, despite its caterwauling noise, delivers massive pop hooks over a driving rhythm section. Hirabayashi’s soft-spoken singing lends itself to some malleability, bringing warmth to the shifting dynamics of “Alright”—a track that dares to jam within its tight, song-focused nature.

While Away occasionally revels in its controlled chaos, there’s a case to be made that Hirabayashi could not have accomplished it any other way. As the album concludes with the piano-driven “Mother Night,” there is a noticeable sense of self-doubt, catching his breath before moving on to the next intrusive thought. The confidence he showed previously in Alright (“Reclaimed/new fit/same old”) appears to have faded, but if he only knew how well it suits him.

Away is out now via Youth Riot Records.