Review
TS Graye’s delicately hummed vocals float over the glistening synths of opener "U Can’t Come Home," easing listeners into a record that quickly pivots toward peak-time club anthems. Across his third LP, If This Is It, Swedish producer Armand Jakobsson delivers electronic melancholy with the polished assurance of a seasoned touring veteran, building a bridge between commercial danceability and personal reflection.
Reviewers appreciate how the project successfully navigates polarized emotional states, continually "ricocheting between moods and sounds, with every moment of exuberance propped up by an undercurrent of despondency". The resulting tracks feel like "a crisp summer's evening, melancholic and beautiful," merging lo-fi house textures, UK garage, and late-90s trance with poetic guest vocals.
While some note that the underlying conceptual storyline of acceptance can be hard to track chronologically, the album's sheer versatility shines. Ultimately, Jakobsson’s refined arrangements succeed because they effortlessly match whether you are "winding down or livening up".
