The “Efforts Of Love” video, which was self-directed, is presented as a beautifully hypnotic short film. In Pollari’s own words; “A video of technicolor splendour infiltrating reality. I saw Onyx Black dancing in a video at an event, and she had the distinct ability to transform the body beyond itself, to invite a dream into reality. That’s the song, too: love invites dreams to become real. As a singer, as a director and actor, I’m always the watching participant; both here and in the background, there to transmit dreams and there to witness them. I wanted the video to display Onyx’s talent as a vehicle for dreams to be realized.”
“Efforts Of Love” follows the swaggering blues of lead single “So Close” and the accompany self-directed video, described by Pollari as the “the feel-bad cruising event of the year”, with a knowing wink.
A musician, actor, director, producer and multi-instrumentalist, “I’ll Be Romance” is Pollari’s second album (following 2020’s ambient-leaning About Men) and burrows into the minutiae of the sweeping, universal subject of the record’s title. With classic songwriting DNA rooted in folkish introspection as well as experimental synth experiments, woven in a confident double helix of sound, “I’ll Be Romance” is anchored by Pollari’s authorial voice which can dazzle, shifting with a performer’s instinct for characterization, with vocals that move from a grave bellow to a skybourne coo.
With the bulk of the album’s songs written when Pollari was 25, “I’ll Be Romance” makes a shrine of the heart-bursting bliss, torturous confusion, and deep introspection brought on by the kind of love that can arguably only exist in your early 20s, a time when perhaps you’re not so wise to (or cynical of) the dating world. He wrote the album’s lyrics in the midst of a formative relationship with an ex-boyfriend; the couple regularly spent time in the bohemia-steeped surroundings of Laurel Canyon, a short drive from Pollari’s LA home.
Produced by longtime collaborator Theo Karon (Mavis Staples, Julia Holter, Foxygen, Idlewild, MNDSGN, Kiefer, Kamasi Washington, and Angel Olsen) at their LA studio Hotel Earth, Pollari set about building cavernous spaces for the songs to live in, turning his intimate demos (performed on an acoustic guitar that belonged to Elliott Smith) into the majestic, tactile soundscapes of the final record. Musicians included drummer Elizabeth Goodfellow (Boygenius, Iron & Wine) and guitarist Steven Van Betten (Fell Runner). It was a new way of working for Pollari, who was used to making songs in his bedroom, but the approach wound up to be the catalyst for these songs to take on a full-fledged new life.
As a classically trained pianist and self-taught guitarist, “I’ll Be Romance” unites Pollari’s melophilial instincts with his wider passions for art, literature, and cinema. Beyond his music making, Pollari is a multi-disciplinary artist also known for his acting work, taking leading roles in television shows and movies such as American Crime, Love, Simon, The Inbetweeners and the forthcoming Apple TV seriesSugar which airs on April 5th.
With observant details of the world around him as well as scalpel-sharp excavations of his own psyche, Joey Pollari has created an album of depth, heft, and joy that marks the flourishing of a captivatingly singular new songwriting voice.
