Label: Saddest Factory Records
Released: 17th January 2025
You don’t get to be the first Brit on Phoebe Bridgers’ record label and have an album produced by boygenius if you’re not a little bit special. Drawing on her internal and external battles with gender identity, heartbreak, and the importance of queer friendship, jasmine.4.t’s debut album ‘You Are The Morning’ is undeniably brilliant.
‘You Are The Morning’ represents a complete overhaul of life in all its nuanced pain and emotional turmoil. Jasmine’s voice is perfectly suited to conveying the vulnerability and bare-faced torture that she has faced over the last few years. Stemming from the relationship breakdowns, including the cutting of family ties and a divorce, that came from Jasmine coming out as a transwoman, tracks such as ‘Skin on Skin’ and ‘New Shoes’ portray someone desperately in need of some validation, affection, and a shoulder to cry on.
Jasmine is clearly in the midst of rising like a phoenix, and that’s what makes this album such an honour to encounter. Whilst tracks such as folky-opener ‘Kitchen’ and warped spiral ‘Highfield’ speak to the dangers of being transgender in 21st Century society, there is still clear evidence that this record album is about queer joy, self-acceptance, and the importance of community.
Britpop-esque single ‘Elephant’ speaks to the soul-nurturing joy of t4t romance, while title-track ‘You Are The Morning’ is an ode to all the people who stuck by Jasmine during her transition. ‘Best Friend’s House’ underlines the centrality of union, both with regard to the song’s obvious links to platonic love, but also the gang vocals that give the feeling that jasmine.4.t finally has the support network she deserves.
‘You Are The Morning’ breaks your heart, tapes it back together, and ultimately makes it beat stronger than ever before. This really does feel like an important album.
Leave a Reply