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Through the widescreen, loping pastoral psychedelia of Valium (out this Friday, 24 May), Jack Cheshire explores themes of escapism and dissociation amid societal decay. A majestic, slow-burn song which unravels at its own pace, where warm hazy synth clouds shroud Cheshire’s inimitable croon, Valium was written, arranged and multi-tracked by Jack in 2021. The first single from the forthcoming new album, Interloper, features long-time collaborator and co-producer Jon Scott (GoGo Penguin, Mulatu Astatke) on drums and was mixed by Shuta Shinoda (Hot Chip, Anna Meredith, Ghostpoet).
Jack Cheshire on Valium:
‘I remember someone describing valium as a ‘get out of jail free card’ to me once and I’ve never quite shaken that impression. Wilful detachment from your anxious self, momentarily softening all the hard edges, gliding into a hazy half-wakefulness. One of my overriding takeaways from the last stretch of time has been how exhaustingly grim everything can seem. Sometimes I find myself wishing I didn’t care; wishing I was oblivious to it all and cocooned in bliss. Willful detachment comes with a hefty price and I wanted to explore this inclination to disappear and the associated guilt that comes with it.’
I want to be a vacant man
I want to climb
I want to be invited in
Detach my mind
See the coastline shimmering
Memory banks are glimmering
But it can’t be found
But it can’t be found
I want to be inside the cloud
All mesmerised
I want to drop my psychic load
And just recline
Warm fuzz of oblivion
Dancing static valium
Where I can’t be found
Where I can’t be found
I feel so lazy
Feel so lazy
I feel so lazy
Caught beneath the velvet waves
I feel so lazy
Underneath the violet rays
