JW Francis shares title track to new album ‘Dream House
At its best, listening to new music opens you up to artists that you had never heard of before and connect with in some fascinating way. I’m happy to report that, in the last couple of months, that person for me has been New York indie rocker JW Francis.
It started with last year’s ‘John, Take Me With You’, one of my favourite singles that just didn’t quite make our 50 Best Songs of 2021 list. It took me a while after that to jump into the accompanying album, Wanderkid, but when I did, I found a whole list of songs just waiting to get lost in. Francis works quickly because his follow-up Dream House is already done. Today, we get to hear the album’s title track.
“‘Dream House’ is a song I wrote about missing loved ones and valuing other people above anything material,” Francis explained in a statement. “Specifically, I was missing my mom during quarantine – I lived all alone in a Brooklyn apartment for four months, and I would have given anything to be with her. “
Featuring a potent layer of bedroom pop wooziness hanging over the track like a fog, ‘Dream House’ nevertheless blends Francis’ signature upbeat optimism with a solid layer of sadness to keep things balanced. While Francis specializes in loopy positivity, sometimes that endless happiness can curdle. But as is the case with his best songs, Francis mines some real human emotion out of the haze of indie pop he’s constructed around him.
It’s reminiscent of Francis’ previous single, ‘I Wanna Be Your Basketball’. The title sentiment might sound ridiculous, but the message at the centre of the song doesn’t actually have anything to do with basketballs. When he’s on point, Francis can drop something surprisingly profound on you while you’re busy watching him play the fool. It’s a sneak attack, one that gets me time and again when I listen to his music.
Check out ‘Dream House’ down below. Dream House is set for a January 28th release.