“This album has been a long time coming,” says John Splithoff. “I guess you could call
it a slow burn.”
Recorded in both New York and Los Angeles, ‘All In,’ Splithoff’s invigorating debut, has
indeed been brewing for quite some time now, and its release this year marks the
culmination of nearly a decade of highs and lows, victories and defeats, breakthroughs
and setbacks. Building off a series of hit singles that have racked up more than 100
million streams, cracked the Top 10 at AC radio, and earned Splithoff festival slots
everywhere from Bonnaroo to Lollapalooza, the collection is bold and self-assured,
mixing intoxicating R&B swagger with soulful introspection and dazzling harmonic
sophistication. Splithoff writes to make sense of himself and his world, and though the
record was completed before the arrival of COVID-19, it feels particularly fitting for
the times, grappling with loneliness and isolation in the face of longing and desire.
The songs are subtle in their personal reckonings, often masking deep, profound
revelations with playful, effervescent arrangements, and Splithoff’s performances are
similarly complex, exuding both a carefree independence and a burning need for
connection all at once. It’s a conflicted album for a conflicted moment, a rich,
mesmerizing collection that hints at everything from Marvin Gaye to John Mayer as it
transforms doubt into determination and self-reflection into celebration.
Sometimes, it seems, a slow burn yields the brightest fire.
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