Jehnny Beth has always thrived on duality- ferocity and tenderness, precision and chaos, control and release. With You Heartbreaker, You, her latest album released on August 29, those contradictions find their balance.
Recorded with longtime collaborator and creative partner Johnny Hostile at their studio in France, this record has been described as ‘cathartic’- but for Beth, making it wasn’t an exercise of pain, but one of joy.
“The writing of the record was not uncomfortable at all, it was the opposite of it,” she says. “It was a really joyful, fulfilling experience… I don’t think the primary reason for writing a song should be cathartic, I don’t think that’s what matters to me. I think when I start writing a record it means that I’ve gone through things, but now I’m ready to talk about it.”
That sense of readiness defines You Heartbreaker, You. After years of collaborating and touring with artists like Gorillaz, Julian Casablancas and more recently, Queens of the Stone Age, as well as serving as the lead vocalist in Savages, Beth sounds grounded in herself. This record was born not out of turmoil, but reflection. “If I write as I’m experiencing something, it’s a bit like when you fall in love and write bad poetry- you’re caught up in the feeling.” She laughs. “So I think it needs that creative distance. When I started writing You Heartbreaker, You, it was a moment where I felt ready.”
This balance between emotion and distance gives this record its pulse. There is confidence in every whisper, the mark of an artist who ha not only learned to express but also to articulate.
Beth’s creative relationship with Johnny Hostile has been a constant in her life for two decades. Together, they’ve built worlds in music, performance and the way they capture sound. This time, they wanted to approach things slightly differently. “We’ve known each other for 20 years, so to write a new record we had to change and adapt to who we are now, and what this record needed to be,” she explains. “We talked about how we would approach it- things we were not going to do, things that we were going to do differently.”
One rule stood out: don’t bore me. “Music needs to be straight to the point and exciting, I don’t want to waste anybody’s time. There are so many distractions,” she says. “But also, I view songs as conversations. Writing a song is like talking- it’s like talking to the world or the person you’re making the song with, or even the work itself. You’re in conversation with what you’re making, and I don’t like boring conversations.”
This purpose and clarity shapes the sound of the record. Lean and instinctive, it shifts from moments of restraint to release. “One of the first tracks we wrote was “Obsession”, and it became clear that it was going to set the tone for the record- the idea of going from a whisper to a scream, sort of a roller coaster in the music,” she says. “But it’s also the longest, most complicated song.”
Pushing her voice to new extremes was a challenge embraced by Beth. “I had to reach that high note and I wanted to do it in a specific way- not going into a head note, but doing it with a scream, a bit of a distortion in the voice,” she recalls. “It was harder than I thought. It was an open-eyed moment because I realised this record was going to demand more from me in terms of vocals, but that felt exciting, it didn’t feel discouraging.”
Part of that excitement came from a renewed focus on the guitar. After experimenting with electronic textures and cinematic production on past projects. Beth wanted You Heartbreaker, You to feel raw and immediate. “I spoke to Johnny about what I wanted to do in terms of mainly getting the electric guitar back on the front row”, she says. “I knew he was a great guitarist, so I really wanted him to pick up the guitar again.”
The pair drew on inspiration from bands like Deftones and Quicksand, merging weight with melody. “I had in mind that washy guitar sound like what you can find in Deftones,” she explains. “Quicksand was a major influence for making this record- those records from Slip to Distant Populations were really important to us in terms of sound and songwriting.”
Beyond music, Beth has also found herself on film sets, most recently as a supporting actress in Anatomy of a Fall. Balancing acting and music might sound like a juggling act, but for her, it’s all part of the same creative impulse. “When acting started to get a bit more regular, it was 2020, so it was kind of alright because my touring had been cancelled,” she says. “So in a way, it was a welcome distraction at that point and also a means to make an income that I hadn’t planned, so I was really enjoying it, and I still do.”
That comfort in performance runs deep. “I grew up in theatre, my dad was a theatre director so it’s not something I’m unfamiliar with,” she explains. “I think making an album is also like making a character or embodying characters with your voice.”
This month, Beth will take You Heartbreaker, You on the road across the UK and Europe. Hearing her speak about the album with such excitement and joy, it’s clear that Jehnny Beth is more than ready to share these songs with her audience, and I can only imagine how much harder they’ll hit live.
You Heartbreaker, You is available now. Listen to it now on Bandcamp. For more details on her UK & European tour dates, her to her official site.
