Elsie Lemahieu

To some people, concerts are just concerts. You buy the tickets to watch a person live, mostly because the tickets are cheap and because any live music is better than recorded. You drive a couple hours and hang out with your friends, or your parents, get something to eat, and head over to the venue.

You go to the concert, you go home. If anyone asks, your response is “it was fine” or “it was fun”.

But what if it could be more than that? What if you felt like you related to the songs that the artist made, agreed with their political views, and left the concert thinking: Damn. 

That wasn’t just any concert. That wasn’t a concert at all. That was an experience. 

You’ve probably heard the saying “live life to the fullest”, and what better way than to be surrounded by people who you haven’t even met, listening to the music that all of you love?

Background Information:

Jack Kays released an album titled “Deadbeat” on November 22, 2024, this is the album that I will be reviewing. 

His main music genres are alternative/indie music, and this album was the first album that he had ever released.

You can find this album on Spotify, and most people listen to his music from there.  

In the past he released many singles, the first titled “Morbid Mind” which was released back in 2020, everyone’s favorite year.

His music reflects a lot of his own personal experiences and he wants to make his music revolve around mental health. 

In fact, he had his own struggle with mental health-he barely made it through high school and he struggled with severe depression, and later on he developed a drug addiction after his parents kicked him out of the house(because of how mentally unstable he was). It’s interesting how his early life went considering music is a hard industry to make it into, without taking into consideration other factors of people’s lives.

Turning to culinary school, he said it was like rehab for him. He spent a lot of time in culinary school which he was passionate about. He even got a tattoo on his knuckles, which has its own backstory.The tattoo says, “cook more, love life”. This displays how he thinks that doing something you love can be great for you and your mental wellbeing.

He didn’t listen to much music himself, mostly My Chemical Romance and Twenty-One Pilots. Jack Kays, after making Soundcloud rap(I know, I know. So unique.) and experimenting with other musical genres for about three years, got signed with Columbia. This is when it was obvious that he had made it into the music industry.

The Deadbeat album cover.Credits:Spotify

Personal experience:

I saw Jack Kays live in Minneapolis, on March 22nd, 2024. I had been listening to his music just that year when I saw that he would be performing in Minneapolis soon.

I went with my dad because he had heard about Jack Kays before, mostly because of his most famous song, “Caffeine”. It was a small venue, but we weren’t that close to the stage. It was a really loud concert, there were speakers everywhere and he had an entire live band with him, including a guitarist and a percussionist. It was really cool to be able to be there and be surrounded by people who also enjoyed the same music as you. The music that people listen to can tell you a lot about someone, even before you truly get to know them. Music brings us together.

 I was in the back, trying, and failing, to sing along. I remember one point when he was performing a song titled “Feel Like Me”, which is a pretty depressing song, about how nobody actually understands how you’re feeling, especially when you’re a kid. And everyone in there was just screaming the lyrics, it was amazing. One really touching song to me from the album was the song called “My Promise (90 Days)”, was strikingly beautiful because it was about his friend who had died from suicide(an overdose). At the concert, he talked about how his friend, Sam, had texted him and how he had never responded. Sam committed shortly after, and Jack said he felt really guilty for not having been there for him, not knowing how much Sam was struggling.

 I feel like it shows how humans often feel guilty about factors outside of their own control. It was definitely sad to listen to him talk about Sam. I noticed how nobody recorded this song or held their phone up, almost like everyone made a silent oath to live in the moment. I think it was mainly because it would’ve been disrespectful. I wanted to record the song so I just held my phone by my side. There was something about the emotion in his voice. You could just tell that he was still so hurt by this. That song is probably one of my favorite songs on the album. I think it was cool because sometimes, you know, the artist isn’t the greatest person in the world. Their music might be good, but they’re actually really bad people. 

But Jack Kays is a great person, and I think that’s cool. He even made a video dedicated to other people who have died because of an overdose. It’s on Youtube, and features clips that other people submitted of their loved ones who have died because of an overdose. It’s just amazing how he took the time to create that, it really shows how dedicated he is to helping others.

That’s about all I have to say about my personal experience at the concert,except that at the end of the concert he screamed: “F Trump!” and walked off stage, which in my opinion was the best exit I’ve ever seen. (Possibly because of my own political views, also because it was cool since some artists are afraid to be outward about their political views). Plus,the whole crowd cheered and sprayed water into the air.

I asked one of my friends what she thought about his music, and here’s what she said:

“I like that his voice isn’t drowned out by the backtrack, so that it’s more about the lyrics.” -Autumn Graef

Deadbeat Songs:

The album Deadbeat consists of 17 songs, and it’s split into two discs. (All in one album on Spotify). 

The songs are: 

• Blow it 
• The Rug
• Caffeine 
• Throwaway
• GET A JOB! 
• Drinking Song
• DEADBEAT! 
• Plan B 
• Feel Like Me 
• SLEEP WHEN I’M DEAD
• Everything We Know
• Middle of the End(DC version)
• My Promise(90 Days)featuring Travis Barker
• Tether 
• Need Me 
• No Children
• And finally, Hot Water.

Needless to say, there are many songs on the album.

To me, this is a great album because it encompasses so many different feelings. There are a lot of lyrics about his own experiences which I think is interesting.

I feel like I can relate to most of them, and I like how some are more chill and some are completely rock in that the percussionists are just rocking out. 

My top three songs, if I had to choose, would have to be The Rug, Caffeine, and Hot Water. 

He has released a few music videos which are visually really interesting, like Gin N Juice which has him standing in the same place the entire time while life is still going on around him. 

He said he wanted to portray it as how people often let things pass by them without noticing.

Lyrics that Stood Out to me:

“Tired of living, but I don’t wanna die.”-Hot Water

“Far too concerned with myself to be bothered, but you wouldn’t know what that’s like. All this time trying not to be like my father, maybe that’s better than who I am now.” -Hot Water

“I made a promise to stay clean and sober because of you. Save space for me next time to you, wherever you’re waiting I’ll come to you.”-My Promise(90 Days)

“I remember your mom’s face, smiling and crying at the same time. And pray that you found grace, and if you’re in pain it’s the last time.” -My Promise(90 Days)

“And he hates it, every waking moment, every chance he gets he blows it.” -Blow It

“Even though you try to help, it’s no good, you should save yourself.” -The Rug

“Now all that I have left of you is your number in my phone.” -Plan B(he’s talking about Sam)

Conclusion:

I would recommend his music to people because his music is true to today and a nice blend of genres. I feel like if you’re a person who has an open music taste, meaning you listen to many different artists and different genres, then you would most likely enjoy his music since he has a variety of songs. A common theme is that all of the songs are angst, so if you are an angry teenager mad at the world more than three days a week, you might as well be buying tickets. Or if you’re sad and just want to listen to a song about feeling like a failure, then that’s completely covered too. Or maybe you just want to listen to an alternative song about not wanting to work for a guy named Bob. Then go check out this album on Spotify, it would be a good use of your time.