Hello reader,
Welcome back.
Today, we’re going to delve into Jake & Shelby. The singer-songwriter duo, comprised of Jake Lawson and Shelby Hiam, began making a name for themselves in 2022 with a series of viral hit cover songs, garnering a large fan base and the attention of artists despite still being in high school.
Exploring their backgrounds a little bit more, let’s look at their upcoming album’s press release to tell the story, “As kids growing up in Hendersonville, a suburb just outside of Nashville, TN, the two first began honing their singular musicality by taking weekly lessons at Cedarstone School of Music, a nearby facility where they performed together in a series of ensembles and a cappella groups. Being two years apart in school, each had followed their own distinct path into music. ‘My family’s not musical at all, but from a young age I begged my parents to let me take music lessons,’ says Hiam, who got her start on piano at age seven. Lawson, on the other hand, hails from a highly musical family, but had no interest in pursuing music until attending a life-changing show by blues-rock guitarist Jonny Lang at the Ryman Auditorium. ‘I was 13 at the time and everything just clicked for me,’ he recalls. ‘After that, I dove right in and started taking lessons, and pretty soon I was playing guitar three or four hours every day.’” Some more cynical humans may read that and wonder what young 20-somethings could offer the world musically? Don’t be that person, read more and listen to their music. Trust me, you’ll be impressed.
They released their debut EP, Just Us, in 2024. On Friday, October 10th, for your listening pleasure, comes their full-length debut album, Learning To Love, via EMPIRE and Cedarstone Entertainment.
From the album’s press release, Hiam says, “One of the things we love most about music is that it allows us to take whatever difficult things we’re going through, then make something good out of it by turning it into a song.” Lawson followed up with, “We’re both naturally shy and not always great at saying what’s on our minds. But the more songs we write together, the more we’ve realized that music helped us to feel less alone and more understood. With these new songs, we wanted to open up even more and go deeper than we had in the past—because that’s how you create something that really connects with people.”
Giving credit where it’s due. The album credits for Learning To Love:
- Performed by: Jake & Shelby
- Written By: Jake Lawson, Shelby Hiam, Lucky West, JT Foley, Stephen Day, Tony Ferrari, Joseph Tilley, Jake Ohlbaum, Josh Ronen, Kylie Sackley, Daniel Ethridge, Kevin Ray Lawson, Josie Dunne, Will Hoanker, Nicole Witt, Sarah Darling, Hunter Metts, and Noah Nockels
- Produced By: Lucky West, Kevin Ray Lawson, Joseph Tilley, Josh Ronen, and Micah Tawlks
- Recording Engineer: Micah Tawlks, Joseph Tilley, Josh Ronen
- Mixing Engineer: Bryan Brown, Warren David
- Mastering Engineer: Aaron Trimble, Aaron David
And now for some hype for your ears and eyes via Jake & Shelby’s YouTube channel:
The warm tones in the video for a heartwarming message for the song, “Loophole”:
(All credits and rights to Jake & Shelby)
A picnic on a mountainside serves as the setting within the video for the song, “You Don’t Know”:
(All credits and rights to Jake & Shelby)
The carnival on the pier setting within the video for the song “Shut Up and Kiss Me”:
(All credits and rights to Jake & Shelby)
The Shelby focused video for the song, “Fragile”:
(All credits and rights to Jake & Shelby)
Overall, Learning To Love serves as a good full album’s worth of songs for Jake & Shelby in their album debut. The duo proves again that they’re not limited to covers of other artists and that they’re here to stay, capable of creating their own melodies and crafting mature-themed songs that explore shared experiences, which are also some of the best elements of being human and being a young adult. The vibes within this album are consistently warm and summery. They capture moments of bliss and happiness in others. That being said, there’s plenty of earworm-worthy pop music to keep your ears satisfied, but these pop songs are not sugary sweet. Even though there are moments of doubt and anxiety amidst the reflection within the lyrics, romance seems to win outright in this album. The heart on your sleeve lyrics, being written down and then sung, serve as catharsis as needed. There’s plenty of wisdom, wit, and soul, perhaps beyond their peers.
Hiam’s vocals are incredible throughout this album. They are powerful, and with perfect vibrato, she sings like a well-seasoned pro that’s been in the scene for decades. I think her voice is what will captivate many first-time listeners, drawing them into the duo’s fan base. I also believe that Hiam’s vocal talent in general will pave the way for further success, not only on this release but also in the future.
Lawson’s vocals often match Hiam’s, creating wistful harmonies that are complementary and sweet rather than contrasting to the ear. I think a great example of this blending is the opening track “Loophole,” which was the first single I heard and hooked me into wanting to listen to more. It still holds up now that the entire album is out. The fourth song on the album, “A Little At A Time,” is an example of a song composition where both Jake & Shelby were allowed moments to stand out vocally. The back-and-forth playfulness within “Shut Up and Kiss Me,” paired with the instrumentation, will make the song an instant fan favorite and a lovely listening experience, both live and when you’re listening to the album in your own domicile.
Where Lawson shines brightest on this album is his instrumentation. With it and working with others at times, he created a foundation for the lyrics and vocals to thrive. Kudos on that. And kudos to the other songwriters and production members involved with this project. Throughout the album, you can hear the deliberate choices made to incorporate instrumentation such as acoustic guitar, percussion, synth, or even pedal steel into various parts. Or to add more lyrics to round out a verse there, and it consistently works, sounding fantastic.
Learning To Love gets 4 out of 5 Scum Drops from me. I think the lower portion of that range is fitting, considering all the new releases this year. It’s a solid debut. And it makes me look forward to hearing more from Jake & Shelby whenever the next album release occurs. This album is a nice step forward for the duo and is worth adding to your collection on the format(s) of your choice.
I’ll always advocate that you take the time to listen to every album in its entirety. The listening process with Learning To Love will take less than 40 minutes from start to finish. Along the way, you’ll discover your own favorite songs without the influence or bias of others. After a few listens on my own, I found the songs highlighted below to be my favorite songs on this album.
The Learning To Love Track listing (song length)
- Loophole (3:38)
- mhm (2:33)
- You Don’t Know (3:20)
- A Little At A Time (3:29)
- Shut Up And Kiss Me (2:57)
- Fragile (2:14)
- Stuck On Your Love (3:06)
- You (3:19)
- Our Hands (2:47)
- Run Run Run (3:30)
- Anymore (3:44)
- Falling Out Of Love (3:49)
Total runtime: 38:26
Check out Jake & Shelby at their website, linked here. You can also follow them on Instagram, Facebook, and listen to more music on YouTube, Apple Music, and Spotify.
Thank you for reading and supporting good music.
Until next time,
Alex
Scummy Water Tower Productions co-founder, reviewer, business manager, and editor. Thank you for visiting this site: scummywatertower.com, and YouTube for Water Tower Sessions!
Contact me: alex@scummywatertower.com
