Jesse Maxwell isn’t the kind of artist to let the moss grow on previous material before he starts on his next set of tunes. Nor does the 26-year-old, Toronto-based songwriter, producer, and recording artist have any qualms about expanding on his signature brand of moody, neo-soul with each new effort. Nowhere is that more evident than on his independent 2022 album, LP2.
Scheduled for release in August 2022, LP2 finds Maxwell exploring new territory sonically and lyrically with characteristic vigor. “I always try to keep it moving,” Maxwell says. “So, what I put out in 2019 and 2020, in terms of my growth and the evolution of my sound, is very different from what I’m doing now.”
Rather than set himself apart from listeners, he draws them in, taking something highly personal and making it eminently relatable – regardless of your life circumstances and challenges. These are songs that encourage listeners to be exactly who they are. “My songwriting style is pretty introspective. It’s about breaking down these walls of judgment that I had for myself. But before LP2, I don’t know if I would’ve written a song like ‘Nosedive’ or ‘ōro’ or ‘Middle Yellow’ because they can be interpreted many different ways.”
For Maxwell, changing up his approach and refining his sound constantly is core to his drive to release new material at what he admits is a fairly furious pace. By way of explanation, he says: “Music’s a big part of my sobriety. I have an addictive personality, but I try to channel that into healthier things, which,” he adds, laughing, “goes hand-in-hand with pushing out a shit ton of songs.”
In just three years Jesse Maxwell has indeed gone from 0 to 100: racking up nearly 700,000 overall streams on Spotify; becoming a regular fixture on radio across Canada; making inroads internationally (via a #1 on the People’s Soul Choice Charts on the UK’s Delite Radio); and gaining a well-deserved reputation as a prolific, deeply lyrical storyteller and a distinctively compelling voice in modern soul.
Fair to say, going forward, LP2 will only further cement that reputation.
