A disarmingly wise and emotionally fearless 22-year-old, singer/songwriter Jake Minch opens up about the heartbreak, heavy thoughts, and clarity that led to his unflinchingly intimate debut album, ‘George.’

Stream: ‘George’ – Jake Minch

It’s rare to speak to someone at the early stage of their career who holds so much wisdom and clarity.

Typically, these traits come after years of self-discovery, success and confidence building. It would seem Jake Minch has this in spades at the age of 22 as we speak with him just prior to releasing his debut album, George.

Spanning themes from the excruciating heartbreak of young love, to what it feels like to go home again, to grief and suicide, George delicately weaves a poetic web of truths. Sonically, it has impressive depth while still maintaining the raw singer/songwriter feel that cannot be replicated from one to another. From the cathartic “F*ed Up” to a personal favorite “First I Was” that has hints of The National with writing that is unmatched to “For Leaving” that packs a punch; Minch covers all bases thoroughly while creating an album that feels as timeless as it is fantastic.

Atwood Magazine and Minch sit down to chat just a week before his album release. We talk about everything from working with the legendary Tony Berg, to a song that is so special it will bring tears to anyone’s eyes “Twice,” to being a hometown hero and more. Talking to Minch was special and one of our most favorite conversations to date. His calm demeanor, friendliness and honesty was disarming; this is a conversation between two people who love music more than anything and happen to love this album very much as well.

Enjoy and stream George. It’s special.

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:: stream/purchase George here ::

:: connect with Jake Minch here ::

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A CONVERSATION WITH JAKE MINCH

Minch and I make pleasantries and discuss our respective locations – he in Brooklyn, myself in Pittsburgh. He is kind and calm, immediately setting the tone for an open and honest conversation.

Jake Minch: Great, thank you. How about you?

Jake Minch: Thank you. A lot.

Jake Minch: Yeah. I was really into lo-fi, the kind of music you throw on a car speaker where it almost sounds bad, like you’re in the room with the person singing. I wanted to do me and a guitar. But I realized that for me, it became kind of a cop-out. It put a ceiling on what I could do. We were going to make a third EP. I’d been working with different producers, but nobody really got it. Then my A&R set me up with Tony Berg. He works with Phoebe Bridgers. I’d be gone for a week and then come back and he’d be like, “Yeah, we hung out with Sarah McLachlan and Bruce Hornsby.” It was crazy.

At first, he said, “Jake’s not ready.”

(We both laugh. Jake is humble and understands the honor it is for Berg to take interest in him. He took that as fuel and continued to work)

So I spent a month coming into the studio three times a week and I’d bring him songs. He’d go, “Jake… what the f* was that? I’m so bored.” Or, “What are you even saying?”

Jake Minch: Yes. working with him was great. He has his own ecosystem. Honestly, the healthiest bubble I’ve ever seen. Before I met him, I was in a lot of muddy water with what I was making, what I was consuming, and how I was spending my time. One day I argued with him that nobody will ever pull from the ether the way Adrianne Lenker does. We went song for song. Every time I’d bring a line, he’d go, “Here’s where Bob Dylan says that exact same thing.” It was cool. And upsetting. But good. It was like someone took me backstage at a Broadway show and said, “Here’s how it actually works.”

Jake Minch: Exactly. I’ve learned the magic comes from really smart, clever people. Not like they summoned it from thin air. He taught me how to be a radar. I also realized I had this whole bank of things I was upset about. And because I’d fixated on that, I’d never learned how to be funny. So that was good to learn.

At the end of that month, my team called and said, “We think you and Tony should make an album.” That was about this time last year. We started with two weeks in the studio with a full band. We had Sam Wilkes on bass, Mason Stoops on guitar, Benny Bach on keys, and Kane from the band Moore. I’d bring in a song, we’d listen a couple times, then all go in the big room and record it.

Jake Minch: He’s seriously one of the funniest guys ever. And yeah, really cool.

Jake Minch: Thank you. Yeah. Tony said it comes down to having something to say. When you don’t, you start looking at other people looking at other people. But if you’ve got something to say, you’re just running your own race.

Jake Minch: There were a lot, but one of the most special was recording “Twice.” It’s just me and Benny on piano. I was sitting next to him, sang the first half, handed it over, and that’s the take. We all listened back and were like… oh, okay. Lightning.

Jake Minch: It’s my favorite song I’ve ever written. And I wrote it in a co-write, but nobody else really wrote on it. I came in with that line “I’m not the kind of guy to watch the same movie twice” and I thought I’d just loop it and say “and over and over.” Then in the co-write, I mumbled into my phone, walked into the other room and cried. When I came back, I was like, “How’s this for a verse?” And they were like, “That’s amazing.” Katie, who I was writing with, I told her, “You should write the second verse.” And she goes, “Jake, I think this one’s just you.”

The way Minch describes this writing session seems like everyone in the room was stunned. It was like they knew the song was an incredible lightning-in-a-bottle moment – one of those moments that drive people to write music.

Jake Minch: Yeah. I went home last July and played a sold-out show opening for Chelsea Cutler at Levitt Pavilion in Westport. I had friends asking for guest list and I was like, “I don’t even have one.” It’s corny, but I felt a little bit like a hometown hero. Walking through Stop & Shop like… yeah. Careful. [laughs]

But I definitely don’t feel that way anymore. I got dinner with someone I’d been crushing on for years. It was totally platonic by then, but I’d let the crush eat away at relationships and hang around too long.I wanted the first verse to capture that sweetness, then the second verse is, like, “you let it live too long.” The album’s me grappling with a lot of stuff, so I wanted this to kick it off with a “here’s what you missed” energy.

Jake Minch: Thank you.

Jake Minch: Yeah. Every so often I go on a pop-country kick. I don’t remember how this started, but I wrote that chorus and thought… am I allowed to keep this? We tracked it live. I’d never really hit a high note in a song before, but I gave it a shot.

Jake Minch: Yeah, thank you! And then Tony said, “Instead of a fourth chorus, let Mason rip a guitar solo.” And it just worked. The second verse is heavy. It’s really specific. And at the time, I wanted certain people to know it was about them… which I deeply regret.

Jake Minch: I guess so. Then we ran that section through car speakers so it felt like it was playing while you’re driving home in silence. That was clever.

Jake Minch: Thank you. So, my ex and I broke up right before our one-year anniversary. And we still went on this camping trip we’d planned. Terrible idea. But we’re friends now. We celebrated the love, cried a lot. I came home and just cried. There’s a voice memo somewhere of me singing, “Thank you for loving me.” And it was so bad. Pieces of that became this song. It grew into an apology. It’s about being passively suicidal, which is something I’ve dealt with since I was a kid. I had this whole plan that just kept getting pushed back. I met someone perfect, but I was falling into old habits.

You know that love where you want to consume the person, just get to the other side of them so you can be yourself again? I did that. And when I finally felt like myself again, I remembered… oh, right. I think the last line of the chorus is a really cool concept: “I had stopped looking for you when I met you first.” We recorded it with Travis picking, layered acoustic and electric guitars, and let Mason and Benny build the soundscape.

Jake Minch: Thank you. Honestly, I skip this one when I listen to the album. I wrote it before I broke up with my ex. I was on tour, a revolving door of substances. I’d just lost whatever battle I was fighting. It’s like when the normal guy in a zombie movie gets bit and says, “You need to kill me or get out now.” The bridge is heavy. It’s about those dark thoughts everyone has but nobody talks about. Watching myself fall in love from a third-person perspective was weird. I wrote this album in a bubble. I don’t know if I could ever do it again. It’s really just me unburdening. The first voice memo of this song is six minutes long.

Jake Minch: Thank you.

Jake Minch: Thank you, Kelly. Me too.

We close with a few words on his upcoming shows, which we will be going to and you should too. Thank you to Jake Minch for giving us the time and honestly around this beautiful record. We can’t wait to continue to follow this artist through a career that we know will have longevity as he is as talented and he is timeless.

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:: stream/purchase George here ::

:: connect with Jake Minch here ::

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 © Adali Schell

George

an album by Jake Minch