Rhythm Review: A Darkly Impressive Turn, The Five Year Wait for Juto’s DAWG

Some of the best albums are ones that come from out of nowhere from artists/bands that have not been active in years. So, when Juto announced his debut album, DAWG, only 10 days before its release, safe to say many were excited. 

The budding R&B starlet from his work in the late 2010s and early 2020s looked be bursting into another high-level talent, along with fellow R&B stars like Giveon and Brent Faiyaz. Having a more ironic approach and a lighthearted style for his music, his sound was very much of that bedroom pop time as well, while still maintaining his great R&B vocals and beats. 

For a first album in four years, DAWG’s surprisingly longer runtime (in comparison to his other projects) shows Juto has not been sitting idle, but has been putting in work. The album showcases Juto at his best, echoing production, vocally amazing, with intimate lyrics, while adding a darker edge material into his sound.

Video Games Leading to a Festival Performance

Jarius Gay started like many artists do, with a love of music from an early age. Being thrust to sing at age 5 at his local church, it was all music from there. Trombone, guitar, bass, and keys were all learned as he continued to sing, before he started to experiment with his own music creation.

Many video games have music-making opportunities; Minecraft has some with redstone, Mario Paint has people making covers of Sabrina Carpenter today, and so many more. Juto’s game of choice was the ever charming Little Big Planet, using the music creating software it had with the level builder. Eventually, he graduated to GarageBand, and like many starlet R&B artists (looking at you, Steve Lacy), he would make his first tracks on the Apple app. 

Both of his first projects, Text Talk and Velvet, were made on GarageBand. They both contain some amazing tracks, with “BTW”, “Homebody”, and “Wayback” all having over a million streams each (with “Wayback” having nearly 5 million). There is definitely more of a bedroom pop distinction in his sound, but the production and vocal performance are very R&B-inspired. 

Growing up with the legendary Odd Future, it must have been nice when former member Taco signed him as the first artist for his then label, COR/TAN Records. Through an Instagram live, which was attended by former manager for Tyler, the Creator, Brad Scoffern, Juto was asked by him to fly out to start recording some tracks. This was only the beginning, as not so long later, Juto was one of the performers at Camp Flow Gnaw, having his own set. 

Wool was released later that year, and Fleece came two years later. Fleece did not hit the same heights as his previous projects, and from then on, he was absent. COR/TAN records stopped rolling out tracks, and it was unknown where Juto was to go. Then came DAWG in July of this year, his first full-length project in his 7-year career. 

The Darkness Producing Juto’s Best

Juto’s earlier work is very bright, lighthearted, and comedic, but DAWG is at times still nice, but there is a much darker tone across the album. Even in the artwork for the album, the once colorful covers of Velvet and Wool are replaced with Juto’s face totally blacked out into a void in front of a white striped wall. 

“Collar” has all of the makings of this darker theme. The descending backing vocals that produce this swaying motion seem almost like a trance, along with the plucking guitar. It also goes along with the lyrics, with Juto feeling like he is being forced to fall in love with someone, like a dog with a collar would. The track ends with this melting guitar as a soft swell of strings accompaniment, as Juto repeats over and over, “You made me fall in love with you.”

Besides the rollout being darker and some songs having a darker tone, the real darkness comes from how heavy the production is, which is something Juto is familiar with, but not to this level. “BFF” has its typical layered vocals that showcase his fantastic range, but the heavy bass that is present here and across most of the songs on the album adds this reverberating hum to the track. The slight distortion on the percussion, ringing out on every downbeat really brings the weight to the track. The piano, laying down booming chords, also creates this sense of scale, which is then swapped for some luscious synths. 

Juto does not always want to keep it nice and slow, as some of the standout tracks are so lively with energy. “No.9” opens with people yelling “chug, chug, chug,” like a typical party scene, and that is exactly what the track is. The slight echoey-distortion on Juto’s vocals makes it seem like it would exist at a house show with a shitty microphone (but remains perfectly clean). The simple drum beat also makes it a perfect driving track, as it sets a foundation as a guitar simply plays. It reminds me of Dominic Fike a lot, and that is a great comparison. 

“La Roma” was the first single released for the project, and it comes with an interesting energy. The plucky percussion that travels back and forth creates a unique groove, almost like a shuffle. The guitar continues to be Juto’s favorite instrument (besides his layered vocals), as it reverberates in the background. Some brightness is present, as the light synth and piano chords give the track this airy feeling.  

More of this dark theme comes from the lyrics, which are about relationships (wouldn’t be R&B without it). “Dash” has Juto falling for someone very quickly, but still remains wary of the quick connection. Meeting friends, setting rules, it is all too much for Juto, and he feels trapped. “Light the World (Trailblazer)” is all about impact and what you do with your impact. Not wanting to submit to haters, not wanting to give up, even while having a normal job, although it is a typical topic of musicians, Juto brings it up with a more positive look. 

Juto’s mesh of pop and R&B is so fresh, even after years of absence. The energy he brings in his vocals and dense production is not done by many in the music world today. DAWG is a culmination of years of work, from being a Walmart worker to being a Camp Flog Gnaw performer, to taking a break, and then producing his project to date. Hopefully, he does not make us wait long for his next one.