Tell Me About Tomorrow

On his full-length debut, 2021s rambunctiously hooky Tell Me About Tomorrow, singer Jaden Hossler (aka Jxdn) sounds like the punky, confident little brother of blink-182. The comparison makes sense as the album features blink-182 drummer Travis Barker who produced, co-wrote, and plays on all the tracks. Hossler even samples blinks 2003 song Feeling This to nice effect for his own Wasted Year. Also emerging as a kind of big brother figure is Machine Gun Kelly, who lends his burnished emo-croon to the anthemic Wanna Be. Hossler, a Tennessee native, sings with the kind of defiant nasal tone that marks some of the best punk-pop. Its a sound he excels at throughout Tell Me About Tomorrow as he details his issues with mental health, drugs, and relationships both good and bad. The latter-half of the album dips more toward the moody hip-hop and rap-influenced approach of artists like Blackbear and Juice WRLD, but the songs remain engaging. Underpinning all of Tell Me About Tomorrow is Barkers taut muscular drumming and adept production, lending both a credibility and slick studio-sheen to Jxdns irresistible pop-punk songs. ~ Matt Collar