It’s one thing to wear your heart on your sleeve. But to reveal it in music is something singer-songwriter Jane. specializes in, as heard with his most recent single, “Hideaways.” Having just released his first EP, Celeste, this past March, the LA-based musician is showing no signs of halting his workflow since debuting in 2021 with What A Wonderful Time To Be Barely Alive.
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His stage name acts as a nod to his real name, Paraj Jain, and his upbringing, where he split his time between India and the US. “Hideaways” similarly nods to Jain’s personal life, albeit in a much more revealing nature that serves as a showcase for how singular his music is in relation to others taking on similar indie-folk sounds.
The song’s centerpiece is, without a doubt, Jain’s vocal prowess. Backed by a sole acoustic guitar and ambient sounds dotted across the track, his unique voice impresses for how clear it stays while seeming like it’s on the verge of breaking. Distant piano keys in the background eventually come in, carrying the vocals along like delicate glass that requires careful handling.
Above all else, the brutally sensitive and ultra-specific lyrics clearly geared toward a certain someone makes listening to the song an invasion of privacy. But it doesn’t come off as alienating, as Jain excels at applying his own experiences to something most people can relate to. In the case of “Hideaways,” it’s a distinct and nostalgic longing for the past that makes the emotional resonance easy to grasp.
And that’s all that could be asked from an artist looking to find their singular voice in music. It’s not always about ushering in a wave of sounds no one has ever heard before. Sometimes, the most personal music is enough to sound groundbreaking.
Words: David Sosa
“Hideaways” by Jane. is out on all streaming services. For more on new music and live shows, follow him on Instagram, TikTok, and his website.
