The Canyon
JJerome87
The Canyon is the debut solo album by British songwriter Joe Newman, released under the moniker JJerome87 on June 26, 2026, following his long run as frontman of alt‑J. Recorded in Los Angeles with producer Carlos De La Garza and a handpicked group of session players plus a trio of female backing vocalists, the record runs about 38 minutes across eleven songs, described by Newman himself as “laid‑back Californian indie folk” blended with warm Americana guitars, Motown, blues, and gospel inflections. Tracks such as Mr Alligator, Brush Me Like a Horse, Track and Field, Green Velvet, Quaaludes, Walkaway Music, Two Hearts, and Pennine unfold like a collection of musical short stories, turning everyday encounters—coyotes on a 5 a.m. drive, memories of northern England train journeys, or scenes from athletics footage—into cinematic vignettes where fact and fiction blur.
Lyrically and emotionally, The Canyon is closely tied to Newman’s experience of becoming a father and of stepping, at least temporarily, outside the creative circle of alt‑J. Songs often pivot between odd, darkly comic character studies (the blues‑soaked preacher‑grifter of Mr Alligator) and tender reflections on family, place, and memory, with his daughter even appearing in the artwork among a pack of coyotes—a nod to Echo Park and the canyon haunts that shaped the album’s environment. Reviewers highlight the record’s “cinematic, emotionally rich” songwriting and bold sequencing: sun‑baked blues and country‑choral epics sit alongside psych‑pop constructions and galloping surf‑rock, yet the whole remains cohesive, presenting The Canyon as an intimate, adventurous step into a new chapter where Newman’s idiosyncratic storytelling and melodic instincts are given their own, carefully framed landscape.
The Canyon is the debut solo album by British songwriter Joe Newman, released under the moniker JJerome87 on June 26, 2026, following his long run as frontman of alt‑J. Recorded in Los Angeles with producer Carlos De La Garza and a handpicked group of session players plus a trio of female backing vocalists, the record runs about 38 minutes across eleven songs, described by Newman himself as “laid‑back Californian indie folk” blended with warm Americana guitars, Motown, blues, and gospel inflections. Tracks such as Mr Alligator, Brush Me Like a Horse, Track and Field, Green Velvet, Quaaludes, Walkaway Music, Two Hearts, and Pennine unfold like a collection of musical short stories, turning everyday encounters—coyotes on a 5 a.m. drive, memories of northern England train journeys, or scenes from athletics footage—into cinematic vignettes where fact and fiction blur.
Lyrically and emotionally, The Canyon is closely tied to Newman’s experience of becoming a father and of stepping, at least temporarily, outside the creative circle of alt‑J. Songs often pivot between odd, darkly comic character studies (the blues‑soaked preacher‑grifter of Mr Alligator) and tender reflections on family, place, and memory, with his daughter even appearing in the artwork among a pack of coyotes—a nod to Echo Park and the canyon haunts that shaped the album’s environment. Reviewers highlight the record’s “cinematic, emotionally rich” songwriting and bold sequencing: sun‑baked blues and country‑choral epics sit alongside psych‑pop constructions and galloping surf‑rock, yet the whole remains cohesive, presenting The Canyon as an intimate, adventurous step into a new chapter where Newman’s idiosyncratic storytelling and melodic instincts are given their own, carefully framed landscape.
The Canyon
JJerome87
The Canyon is the debut solo album by British songwriter Joe Newman, released under the moniker JJerome87 on June 26, 2026, following his long run as frontman of alt‑J. Recorded in Los Angeles with producer Carlos De La Garza and a handpicked group of session players plus a trio of female backing vocalists, the record runs about 38 minutes across eleven songs, described by Newman himself as “laid‑back Californian indie folk” blended with warm Americana guitars, Motown, blues, and gospel inflections. Tracks such as Mr Alligator, Brush Me Like a Horse, Track and Field, Green Velvet, Quaaludes, Walkaway Music, Two Hearts, and Pennine unfold like a collection of musical short stories, turning everyday encounters—coyotes on a 5 a.m. drive, memories of northern England train journeys, or scenes from athletics footage—into cinematic vignettes where fact and fiction blur.
Lyrically and emotionally, The Canyon is closely tied to Newman’s experience of becoming a father and of stepping, at least temporarily, outside the creative circle of alt‑J. Songs often pivot between odd, darkly comic character studies (the blues‑soaked preacher‑grifter of Mr Alligator) and tender reflections on family, place, and memory, with his daughter even appearing in the artwork among a pack of coyotes—a nod to Echo Park and the canyon haunts that shaped the album’s environment. Reviewers highlight the record’s “cinematic, emotionally rich” songwriting and bold sequencing: sun‑baked blues and country‑choral epics sit alongside psych‑pop constructions and galloping surf‑rock, yet the whole remains cohesive, presenting The Canyon as an intimate, adventurous step into a new chapter where Newman’s idiosyncratic storytelling and melodic instincts are given their own, carefully framed landscape.
The Canyon is the debut solo album by British songwriter Joe Newman, released under the moniker JJerome87 on June 26, 2026, following his long run as frontman of alt‑J. Recorded in Los Angeles with producer Carlos De La Garza and a handpicked group of session players plus a trio of female backing vocalists, the record runs about 38 minutes across eleven songs, described by Newman himself as “laid‑back Californian indie folk” blended with warm Americana guitars, Motown, blues, and gospel inflections. Tracks such as Mr Alligator, Brush Me Like a Horse, Track and Field, Green Velvet, Quaaludes, Walkaway Music, Two Hearts, and Pennine unfold like a collection of musical short stories, turning everyday encounters—coyotes on a 5 a.m. drive, memories of northern England train journeys, or scenes from athletics footage—into cinematic vignettes where fact and fiction blur.
Lyrically and emotionally, The Canyon is closely tied to Newman’s experience of becoming a father and of stepping, at least temporarily, outside the creative circle of alt‑J. Songs often pivot between odd, darkly comic character studies (the blues‑soaked preacher‑grifter of Mr Alligator) and tender reflections on family, place, and memory, with his daughter even appearing in the artwork among a pack of coyotes—a nod to Echo Park and the canyon haunts that shaped the album’s environment. Reviewers highlight the record’s “cinematic, emotionally rich” songwriting and bold sequencing: sun‑baked blues and country‑choral epics sit alongside psych‑pop constructions and galloping surf‑rock, yet the whole remains cohesive, presenting The Canyon as an intimate, adventurous step into a new chapter where Newman’s idiosyncratic storytelling and melodic instincts are given their own, carefully framed landscape.