Jack Bobley Radiates in the Prismatic, "Colorless"

Released in August of 2022 by 19-year-old NYC-based D.C. native, Jack Bobley, Colorless is melodramatic in all the right ways, vulnerable, yet reserved, and offers a truly cinematic experience throughout 11 self-produced, genre-defying tracks.

Stylistically, Colorless travels along a broad spectrum of alternative music: from soul, hip hop, jazz, folk, to psychedelic influences, in a way that is tied together harmoniously through smooth transitions, both thematically and sonically. Within the first two lines of the album’s opener, “ASTRO,” Bobley reveals the thesis that perfectly illustrates the project’s narrative direction: “Psychedelic, keep the tabs on me / I look like I’m chilling when I’m falling apart, we both don’t know how to be alone.” Bobley narrates a coming-of-age story delivered through the pragmatic lens of someone who experienced an awakening after a bad acid trip–and perhaps it was all for the better. These inferences are confirmed in the following track, “Hue,” where he wallows in uncertainty and indecision: “What the fuck am I supposed to do? This shit’s all new and I’m so confused / Can’t get out of my bed I’m a type B / Don’t know if my friends even like me.” Bobley’s writing is melancholic, but not nihilistic, and the sentiments he presents in songs like “Counting Pills” and “I Broke My Ceiling Fan” are beautifully heartbreaking: “Say I’ll see you soon, and I stare up at the moon, I wonder if you see it too but I don't ask / I just count your pills when I don't know what to say / The neighbors see me stand out in the rain.”
The track list is sonically unpredictable, yet incredibly cohesive; ping-ponging along a landscape of alternative reimagining of classic folk tunes, old-school hip hop, jazz standards, and T-Pain-adjacent vocal processing on the album’s single, “Stay.” One variable that remains constant, however, is Bobley’s affinity for the vocoder. A talented instrumentalist, Bobley’s use of the vocoder enhances the alluring theatrics of his vocals, which are layered with harrowing dissonant harmonies and eccentric synths. These sonic embellishments make an appearance on nearly every track, namely on “ASTRO,” “Counting Pills,” “Omw,” and “Nectar,” and act as the glue that ties it all together.

Contrary to its paradoxical title, Colorless presents itself like a kaleidoscope: varying fragments, shapes, and colors weave their way into a beautiful tapestry, and you’ll find yourself absolutely mesmerized by the end of it all.

Standout tracks: “Counting Pills,” “Forward” (feat. Che AM), “I Broke My Ceiling Fan,” “Moonbeams,” “Stay”