JORDY, BOY | Album Review 💿

Los Angeles-based pop singer/songwriter JORDY gets personal on his short but sweet and relatable sophomore album, BOY.

You always remember your first time.  I know what you’re thinking – that I am referencing the universal three-letter word.  That is NOT the case! I am actually referencing listening to and reviewing my first album by talented pop singer/songwriter, 🎙 JORDY. JORDY caught my ears a few years back and I knew that when he released his sophomore album, I planned on listening and reviewing it. Well, the time has come, and 💿 BOY oh boy is this boy… man… worth it… something like that! JORDY, who is openly gay 🌈, continues to expand the LGBTQ+ 🏳️‍🌈 catalog, which is awesome. That said, there is something for everybody on his short but sweet sophomore album.

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“Love You and Let You Go”

JORDY sets the tone of BOY with 🎵 “BOY (intro).” He is introspective, asserting, in the chorus, “I’m just a boy in a dumb, grown-up body / I’m older, but older’s a joke.” His candidness is a selling point because there are many people in the same boat as he is. “Didn’t find love like I thought I would,” he asserts in the first verse, “Almost thirty and living alone.” Growing up isn’t easy, that’s for sure.  Following the intro, he dives into the dramatic 🎵 “Love You and Let You Go.” This seems to be extension of the intro – the love that didn’t work out for the pop star.  “Yeah, we could’ve had a dog by now / Living in the perfect house,” he sings in the pre-chorus, clearly disappointed the relationship didn’t go as planned.  He showcases ample emotion in the chorus, admitting, “I can love you and let you go.” Even though JORDY may still be a boy, that is a mature, grown up assertion.

On the brief, playful 🎵 “Good Not Great”, JORDY is okay at best – could be worse, and could definitely be better.  Essentially, he is in a state of confusion, admitting, “Stuck in the middle of love and hating myself / Oh, half these days, I can’t tell.” While this is a fun record, again, it is also relatable. For good measure, at the end of the bridge, the “Fuck” he drops feels, well, fucking right given the tense place he is in.  🎛 Jonny Shorr does a nice job with the production, too.  To make matters worse, he is experiencing a 🤩 🎵 “Dry Spell”! “Kinda sucks to be the guy / Who likes to fuck, but loves to cry,” he asserts in the first verse, further expanding the contradiction, “I’ve always had a dirty mind / But way too fragile for my kind.” Obviously, this means sex, particularly meaningful sex is becoming, well, hard to come by. He admits, “Tried hooking up, but it sucks and now I kinda hate me.” Even though there is a degree of seriousness in “Dry Spell,” hard to deny how entertaining it is to hear JORDY say, “I should pull some Magic Mike shit!” Once more, the melodies stand out, as well as the production (🎛 Shae Jacobs  and B-HAM). “Dry Spell” marks one of the very best songs from BOY.

“IDK SH!T”

“And maybe I’m still a stupid young kid / Trapped inside of a twenty-somethin’…” Ah, JORDY continues to be just a boy! Even so, the momentum of BOY continues strong on the fun, brutally honest 🤩 🎵 “IDK SH!T”. Essentially, on this exuberant, swagger-laden gem (shout out that sweet,  🎛 Drew Polovick production), JORDY still hasn’t got SH!T figured out. He characterizes his twenties as annoying and states, “I’m just fakin’ it ‘til I make it, that’s all I do / Every single damn day.” Ah, that’s so many of us JORDY, who, even well beyond our twenties, could make the same assertion.

“I don’t wanna feel, I don’t wanna feel, I don’t wanna feel sometimes,” yet, at other times, “I just wanna feel, I just wanna feel, I just wanna feel sometimes.” Um… conflicting feelings much? Regardless, JORDY goes on to sing, “So I, I get high.” It seems on 🤩 🎵 “I get high” that he is trying to mask the pain, hence why he gets high.  Even if he’s all over the place, it’s hella relatable. There are even more scenarios in play. Out with a stranger versus being at home with someone I love.  Awake versus asleep…  Growing up versus being young.  In all these complicated, triggering situations, he gets high to blow off steam, etc. He sings incredibly well, particularly toward the end when the record expands dynamically and instrumentally.  The production (Polovick behind the boards, once more) is also a selling point, giving him a fine backdrop to sing over. All in all, he delivers the goods. We all have our means of escape, right? For JORDY, it’s getting high.

Appears in 🔻:

• Awesome Songs: October 2022

Sometimes, you just wish you could be as cool as your brother or sister.  In the case of 🎵 “Becky’s Brother”, JORDY looks up to his sister, who he believes excels where he falters.  As is often the case with sibling relationships, he hasn’t always voiced his admiration.  But, being the grown man, he is – BOY and all – he dedicates an entire song (“I’m more than okay with me just being / Becky’s brother / Growing up right next to you was / Such an honor”). Interestingly, we find out Becky is younger than him…  From there, he moves beyond sibling admiration to backseat driving on 🤩 🎵 “Backseat Driver”.  “Backseat Driver” is not about driving a car, mind you. That said, it finds JORDY comparing his non-existent/sus love life to being passenger in the backseat that never rides shotgun, let alone gets to drive. He is struggling to find that love he so desperately seeks.  He tires of being a “Backseat driver, broken-hearted survivor” who wants to “Know when I’ll ride shotgun /… Not sitting in the back alone.”

“Story of a Boy” 

“This is the story of a boy / I’d adore him if I had a choice,” JORDY asserts on 🤩 🎵 “Story of a Boy” covering the 2000s 🎙 Nine Days classic, 🎵 “Absolutely (Story of a Girl)”. According to MTV, the openly gay pop musician is the first person to be granted permission to cover the song!  With the blessing of Nine Days front man, 🎙 John Hampson, he transforms the “Absolutely (Story of a Girl)” to fit who he is (“He doesn’t know my name / But I could give much more”). “Story of a Boy” is another awesome addition to the ever expanding queer music catalog.  In his hands, the record is both reflective and longing. “Moved here from a small town / Fell in with the wrong crowd,” he sings in the first verse, adding, “I don’t blame him ‘cause most people suck / And leave you crushed.”  In the second, he frets about Hollywood and says of this guy, “And I watch him on the internet / Trying to be happy / He wouldn’t have to if he knew that he could have me.” JORDY keeps it queer, and who would have it any other way (“And he looks so good / Walking through that door / Oh, I wish I could / Be the ending that he’s looking for”)? It’s incredibly cool he took a 00s hit and reintroduced it to a new generation from a gay perspective.

Appears in 🔻:

• JORDY, “Story of a Boy”: LGBTQ Bopz 🌈🎶 6 (2023)
• Story: 3 to 5 BOPS No. 16 (2023)
• 11 Intriguing Songs With A Story to Tell (2023)
• BOY, These Songs Are About You (2023)

Post boy story, JORDY has a 🎵 “Hypothetical Party” – WOO (a slick hypothetical party for that matter)! This party, however, isn’t particularly lit 🚫 🔥.  The self-described “extroverted introvert” is at the crib, basically.  “I wanna go to a party where it’s quiet / Where nobody’s around and I’m fine.” Say what? “A hypothetical party, I’m a riot / Home in bed by like ten forty-five…”  Again, so much of BOY deals with JORDY’s perceived lack of maturity, yet, he seems to growing and maturing nonetheless, particularly as he seeks to avoid superficiality and potential toxicity.

In the penultimate cut, 🎵 “Unburnable”, JORDY is still struggling with a past relationship. Even though he should burn what remains from the expired union, he can’t bring himself to. “But now that you know what I can’t throw away,” he asserts in the chorus, “What do you keep just in case?” Clearly, on this authentic ballad, the pop singer still holds a sliver of hope him and his ex-boyfriend will reunite. At the same time, he understands they are done… He closes out BOY with more tempo, rhythmic melodic lines, and colorful production on 🎵 “love you, bye.” Also, there is plenty of personality, as JORDY describes the man that he is, particularly when it comes to a relationship. In the infectious chorus, he swears, “At the end of the night, after a fight / Wanting to cry, holding you tight / I love you bye.” Woo! The post-chorus is engaging in its own right.  Personally, I love the choice for the pop artist to conclude with something lighter that still possesses a degree of introspection.

Final Thoughts 💭 

All in all, JORDY delivers an enjoyable and relatable album with BOY. Sure, he comes from a queer perspective on this album, but anybody who listens to this LP will relate regardless of sexuality. Short but sweet at just over 33 minutes in duration, JORDY successfully captures the tough place he is in his life – getting older but still doesn’t have things figured out. BOY earns a positive rating and review in my book.

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🤩 Gems 💎: “Dry Spell,” “IDK SH!T,” “I get high,” “Backseat Driver” & “Story of a Boy” 

🎙 JORDY • 💿 Boy • 🏷 300 Entertainment • 🗓 4.21.23

[📷: 300 Entertainment]