Waiting for Jesso

In Samuel Beckett’s widely acclaimed absurdist tragicomedy, Waiting for Godot, the titular character fails to materialise. The two lead characters are stuck, endlessly waiting, their very existence defined by the utter futility of it all.

Many of us have been waiting an exceedingly long time for Tobias Jesso Jr.’s second album. It’s been ten years and seven months since Goon, his spectacular 2015 debut, blew critics away. A masterclass in fragility, minimalist production, and the kind of compositional skills that would earn Jesso Jr. a Grammy for Songwriter of the Year in 2023, Goon exuded the quiet charm of the best 1970s singer-songwriters. Think Emitt Rhodes, Randy Newman, Harry Nilsson (Goon even featured a song called “Without You”). Sonically, it even resembled a lost artefact from that golden era, while, at the same time, being simply too good to be written off as a pastiche. In terms of realistic musical comebacks, Jesso Jr. was right up at the top of my wish list.

The problem is, unlike Godot, Tobias Jesso Jr. turned up.

S h i n e is not Goon 2. Superficially, at least, you could be forgiven for making that assumption—it is, after all, Jesso Jr., his piano, and a bunch of minor key songs. After a decade writing for other people, however, Jesso Jr. seems to have lost his own sense of identity. The little idiosyncrasies that helped him to stand out in a genre dominated by schmaltz are now tantalisingly out of reach. Rather than Rhodes and Nilsson, I’m reminded of the cheesier side of Billy Joel, or a late-career Elton John. Jesso Jr.’s proficiency on the piano has undoubtedly increased, but it all sounds so calculated. Where Goon felt instinctive, S h i n e feels studied. Soulless, even.

Tobias Jesso Jr.: s h i n e

Returning after a 10-year absence, the lapsed singer-songwriter faces the mammoth task of proving his individuality as an artist.

No RipcordJuan Edgardo Rodríguez

Vocally, Jesso Jr. has regressed. He rarely sounded confident on Goon, but his voice sounds shakier throughout S h i n e, prompting a series of conservative melodic choices. The endearing croon of “How Could You Babe” feels entirely beyond the reach of 2025’s Jesso Jr. Worse still, his tentative approach only serves to draw attention to some of S h i n e’s clunkier lyrics. “You’s a jack rabbit, you run like there’s dogs abound, I’m chasing my tail, wanna leave this shit behind, goin’ nowhere fast,” he rambles on “Black Magic,” a shadow of the man who conjured up simple gut punches like  “Marianne, I lost you in a dream…then, the dream came true.”

I listened to Goon immediately after S h i n e, desperate to make sure I hadn’t grossly overrated it. Thankfully, I can confirm that it remains a distinctive, emotionally charged masterpiece—one of the finest records of the mid-2010s. Throughout the ensuing decade, I often wondered if Jesso Jr. would deliver a follow-up and what a second solo record would sound like. Now I know—and it turns out some things really aren’t worth waiting for.