New Music: Shook – I Will Be There

Shook (aka J.R.F Wijnands) is a Dutch musician who made a worldwide splash with 2016’s Continuum album. After a serious bout of illness (through which he continued to work on music) he’s released a taster for his new album in the form of I Will Be There, which features guest vocals from Juliet Klaar.

With a cinematic approach to dreampop, I Will Be There is a gentle giant of a song. Klaar’s vocals rival the breathy intensity of Charlotte Gainsbourg, allowing the listener to lose themselves in an ocean of whimsical distraction.

The bright and fresh arrangement invites favourable comparisons with the likes of Air and Phoenix but has a more grounded, human feel to it rather being an exercise is abstract musical mood music. With a serious yet hopeful message behind the lyrics, it’s as pleasantly uplifting as a cool breeze on a warm summer’s day.

Jasper says of the inspiration for the song: “During my recovery I spent a lot of time with my dear Juliet. She was always there for me during my illness. It felt natural for us that we made a song together. We spend many days together in our living room / music studio, and we wrote lyrics and recorded together until the late hours which resulted in the creation of I Will Be There.”

I Will Be There is out now and is from Shook’s forthcoming album Bicycle Ride which you can pre-order now on the Shook Bandcamp website.