Jxne displays his vocal abilities in full force on new single, “Utah"

Goodbyes are never easy, and on Jxne’s newest single, “Utah,” the pain from a recent separation fuels his vocals to shine like never before. By engaging in a drum-less approach the luscious wash of acoustic, electric, and bass guitars is like a boat holding up his resonant voice as it coasts along still water into the sunset. Unfortunately, he is doing so alone.

Songs the 20-something year old artist shared before "Utah,” like “Fold” (2022) and “Run” (2021), featured his voice as the centrepiece. Except they were laid against 808-heavy backdrops—a throughline back to freestyling with his friends in high school.

After he was signed to Sound Factory Records - the storied Los Angeles label that launched the careers of Nessa Barrett, Jaden Hossler, and Jordi - last year, his songs started leaning into the versatility of pop. “Invisible” employs a dance beat over which Jxne sings floaty lifts. He belts over the modern soul tune “Cross My Mind” in a heartfelt fashion reminiscent of pop idols The Weeknd and Post Malone (artists to whom Jxne has been compared). Both of said idols don’t hold anything back when they’re expressing sorrow, and neither does Jxne on “Utah.”

“Someone I had a really deep connection with moved out of Staten Island. And while it wasn’t actually to Utah, I picked Utah as a fictional place to represent the distance in my mind, and a place that felt cold, dark, snowy – somewhere that represents all the feelings and mood of the song,” Jxne said of “Utah".

To battle the darkness he envisioned in “Utah”, he sends his notes higher and higher while he moves through verses. As his denial compounds, his voice becomes increasingly vibrant. However, by the end, he accepts that his someone is gone, and with his honest and impactful singing, he will help many others accept that their someone is gone as well.