A spirited, heart-on-sleeve pop enthusiasm takes hold on Better Luck Next Time, the debut EP from Jake Marshall. Hook-friendly pop productions pair with Marshall’s impressive vocal range, spanning four octaves, alongside emotively relatable themes of moving on. “This EP is my way of letting go,” Marshall says. “The sentiment of ‘better luck next time’ is simple, but it was a really difficult place to get to—a place of genuinely wishing happiness, love, and good things to the people of my past, even if they’ve wronged me. There’s peace in the letting go.”
Opening the EP in stellar form, “TOO MUCH! (Remix)” melds commentary on nurturing, affecting, and heartbreak — from lack of affection during childhood to current-day relationship strains. “Now that you’re out of my life, I feel so alive,” the cathartic vocals reveal following a hooky synth-pop swell, finding peace in release following heartbreak. Layered vocal airiness and spacey synths intertwine melodically throughout. Featuring Allexx Fé, “Lullabye” succeeds with a dreamier, soulful pop disposition, melding bouncy bass and serene synth pulses amidst vocals within “now I found a good guy,” exultations following the opener’s heartache.
Another standout is “Next Time,” which concludes the EP in its overarching thematic prowess and melodic rock/pop intertwining. The title beckons to strive for better times following heartbreak, emphasizing how falling for the wrong people can prompt a healing process that culminates in breaking free and celebrating independence more than ever before. “I hope he’s a better man than I,” the vocals admit with compelling radiance. “I wish you better luck next time.” An audible conveying of moving-on pairs wonderfully with ear-warming pushes of mellow piano, percussive pit-pattering, and bursting guitar crescendos. Such strong songwriting and production is consistently apparent throughout Better Luck Next Time, a thorough success from Jake Marshall.
