JONAH KAGEN: GEORGIA GOT COLDER

georgia got colder – Jonah Kagen
Release Date: December 2nd, 2022

Track Listing:

1. hill that i’ll die on
2. graveyard shift
3. georgia
4. barcelona
5. broken
6. colorado
7. CHEMICALS!

georgia got colder is an upbeat and emotional release. There’s a mix of acoustic guitar, poignant piano, and soothing reflective vocals that make for a lovely debut EP. It’s a journey of emotions and experiences, happy and sad, rapid and steady. 

The opening track, “hill that i’ll die on,” is a soft tune that sets a tone for the whole EP. It is a direct message of support to someone; a declaration of love pledging to make it through challenges and preserve a relationship. This is a positive and sweet song, very romantic and wholesome. It is a contrast to the other tunes intentionally – no doubt setting a mood and making the later songs all the more sad.

The next song is more folk sounding, especially during the chorus with some cool distortion. It starts out light and goes into a full, rising tempo. It continues the theme of standing by your romantic partner, thus the titular repetition “No matter how dark it gets, I’ll take the graveyard shift.” So far it’s still pretty happy – we’re on a high.

As we move on, the material gets slower and sadder. It’s about forgetting someone and trying to reclaim memories of the past, describing past experiences and wishing to go back from the present of a broken heart. It’s clear Jonah has a lot of genuine feeling and personal experience poured into these songs, and it’s easy to understand his emotions released through the music. There’s regret and even remorse poured into this one.

“barcelona” in the middle is my favourite of everything here. It’s a very catchy tune with a very cool production style. There’s lots of clicks and backing sounds in the rhythm, and I definitely got it stuck in my head. There’s even the sound of a ringtone briefly during the line “Did you lose your phone?”… it’s just very well engineered and has a pop sound. It’s a bit different from the rest of the songs but still fits with the emotional themes. The lyrics speak of jealousy and isolation, all while someone is away on vacation. There’s not a dull moment in this song, just a head banger all the way through.

Track 5 goes back to the sad and soft style. In contrast to the earlier songs, “broken” is about being lonely and “begging you to come and pull me out the fire.” The singer needs to be saved and return to happier times in the past, emerging from “the ashes and smoke.” It is a lament, being disappointed in past behaviour and ruining the chances. The mood is all over the place in this EP. One goes through a journey of emotions in just 20 minutes.

We continue with the geography theme in a song about “colorado.” This is dominated by a minor key piano riff. There’s more reflection and imagery of travel until it eventually goes into a crescendo of harmonizing instruments, the singer wailing of an experience no longer real, only in his dreams.

The final song is perhaps the most angsty and sad. Jonah drops a couple F-bombs as he repeats that he’s feeling fine and it’s all chemicals. It ends on a sudden note, the final line repeating this mantra. Maybe he lost his “f***ing mind” but pills (“God’s medicine”) will stabilize him – perhaps. Each song is short but packs a punch, the finale making a simple but tough statement on an emotional state. In the end, it is all chemicals – but they still hurt. We’re left on an abrupt and sad conclusion, going from joy and sweetness to abandonment and loss of hope.

georgia got colder is a short and sweet release that takes you into the depths of Jonah’s psyche. The highs and lows of romance are universal themes explored in detail. There’s powerful personal description, both of physical memories and inner feelings. It’s a fun and soft listen, but also tugs at the heartstrings and engages with darker elements throughout. I enjoyed this debut EP and hope to see more from Jonah’s mind in the future. This is relatable music crafted by talent.

Written by: Cazzy Lewchuk

Written by The Permanent Rain Press