Music by Jeremy makes a striking entrance with Scenes from a Well Worn Path – Side One, the first instalment of an ambitious 24-track double album rolling out across four sides from August to November. A debut in name but hardly in spirit, the Banbury singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist arrives with the perspective of someone who has spent a lifetime collecting stories, questions and bruises. Drawing from the confessional songwriting of John Lennon and the storytelling instincts of Bob Dylan and Randy Newman, with David Bowie’s restless reinvention in the mix, Jeremy calls his approach “joyous realism”: confronting life’s uglier truths without surrendering humour or wonder.
“Be Me” sets the tone with plucked guitar strums and a delicate, tense vocal that immediately feels personal. There is an understated unease in the performance, fitting a song about the exhaustion of constantly performing a version of yourself for other people. The artist lets the tension simmer, making the track’s vulnerability all the more convincing. It is an immediately accessible introduction to a record that refuses to stay in one lane.
By the time “Well Worn Path” arrives, the atmosphere has gained considerable heft. Slow, heavy thumps give the song a grounded pulse as Jeremy’s voice rises and engages with greater force. The contrast between weighty rhythm and soaring vocals captures the album’s larger fascination with endurance: life can drag its heels, but that does not necessarily mean we stop moving.
What makes the project especially intriguing is how its homespun construction serves such expansive songwriting. Jeremy plays the guitars and fretless bass himself, building the arrangements in Ableton from his home studio, while generative AI, trained on his own voice, helps provide drums and vocals. Used less as a gimmick than as a creative prosthetic, the technology allows him to construct the musical world he could not physically assemble alone.
Across its first side, Scenes from a Well Worn Path feels curious, bruised, funny, and startlingly candid. Jeremy is simply walking the path, looking around, and telling us exactly what he sees.
STAY IN TOUCH:
INSTAGRAM | SPOTIFY | WEBSITE
Review by: Naomi Joan