When Paul Jacobs isn’t contributing to Montreal-based post-punk band Pottery, he’s busy crafting his own methodological schemes in the studio. Most recently, yesterday finds the release of his latest single, “Half Rich Loner” (a follow-up to his November single, “Thanks”).
Sauntering in with a suave bassline and cowbell, the song weaves the tale of the chap from which it draws its namesake, who Paul notes is a past version of himself. It chimes in with garbled, distorted mutterings and Paul’s rugged vocal demeanor before ushering in rhythmic cymbal hits and toe-tapping instrumentation (largely influenced by Paul’s more than capable handling of a set of drum sticks).
The track’s accompanying music video features a frenzy of hand-drawn scenes, expressing an amount of brilliance that’s equivalent to the song itself. As it begins, the loner, painted in black and white, finds himself at the edge of a cliff, clutching his sides and bent at the middle, as if he’s being torn apart inside. Drawn by curiosity, though, he quickly jumps off and into the waters below, signaling the beginning of the track’s descent into madness. The video gradually progresses, switching between pops of warm color (from pink to yellow to red), and back to black and white, which concocts a visually pleasing, yet disorienting display of the song’s autobiographical re-telling.
As the track describes, the loner feels trapped under some sort of ‘spell’ as he undergoes the mundane practice of everyday life, watching the sun rise and set while he takes notes in meetings and drives to and from the office. The conditions of said spell find him unable to engage in anything other than these bland activities, which, as a result, limits any sense of stimulation, any sense of creativity, in his day-to-day.
As a representation of this predicament, the video flashes between animated scenes wherein the loner can be seen taking moments to indulge — for example, constructing a brightly-colored wall decorated with framed pieces of art — and then returning to “the grind” — or jumping into the gaping maw of a horrible beast. This very pattern seems to be the origin of the loner’s gripe with life: while he doesn’t necessarily have a horrendous existence as it is, the way he’s living is still hindering his happiness, and, in turn, life seems to drag on, clouded by a sort of numbness and lack of fulfillment, even with the stability granted by a standard routine. In this situation, his status as a “half rich loner” was born.
The struggle this track details is one that many, including myself, know all too well. As Paul describes amidst the song’s symbolism, we creatives are faced with a question: to do what “we’re supposed to do,” or to do what makes us feel truly alive. Either way, both options require sacrifice, and it’s a matter of whether or not one wants to be a “Half Rich Loner,” or something potentially more spiritually rewarding, despite the social and financial risk. It seems as though Paul has chosen the latter, and for that, in my opinion, he might be better off.
“Half Rich Loner” is the first single off Paul Jacobs’ forthcoming full-length LP, Pink Dogs on the Green Grass, which is set for release on April 30th via Blow The Fuse. Make sure to keep an ear open!