When we first came across Jutes, the Canadian artist was grinding his way through a sweaty, punishing Warped Tour set – his turbulent mix of alt-metal, dark R&B and harmonies permeating the crowd of swaying bodies beneath his stage.
Debuting music in 2020, Jutes has been consistently building a strong fanbase and community online and through undeniably charismatic live performances. His music has earned him a Juno Award nomination this year for Breakthrough Artist or Group of the Year, while his latest album Chin Up, Beautiful has served as a perfect reintroduction to the Jutes sonic world.
It’s this album that brings Jutes back into our orbit.
Chin Up, Beautiful offers a dynamic insight into Jutes’ growth as a songwriter and storyteller: balancing emotional anchor moments (“Disassociate,” “White Butterflies”) with the striking favourites that have generated new waves of momentum for Jutes in the fan community (“Mannequin,” “Icarus”).
Speaking with Rolling Stone AU/NZ from home in Los Angeles, Jutes notes that he is well aware of what may have been expected of him when it came to putting new music together. And in realising this, he knew he needed to step things up.
“I felt that with this project, I needed to take a risk and level up the artistry, as opposed to focusing on social media and focusing on what I know people want from me,” he explains.
“I know that people like when I belt and do the high notes, I get it. I needed this project to not just be that over and over again. And of course, with a song like ‘Love Psychosis’ and the moment that has been having, of course I know it’s the belting part that everyone wants me to do all the time. I get it and it’s cool! But I do think the album also has a lot of dynamics. That was really important to me.
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“I didn’t want the album to be tiring to listen to, with everything constantly being maxed out. Let it breathe and then let the big moments be extra big and impactful. It took a lot of restraint to not let some songs just be the thing that I know is the thing, you know?”
Being able to get out of one’s own way and push further into territory that felt both foreign and yet so comfortable, has been something Jutes has had to learn in real time.
Chin Up, Beautiful serves as a beautiful traipse through this journey of allowing vulnerability to clash with a rawness; it offers melancholy and seduction in equal measure, without forgetting the need to remain honest.
Jutes himself has been able to remain grounded by remembering why music can exist for an artist and audience alike.
“I tried to be intentional with the world I was building. A lot of my writing is very stream of consciousness, it does just flow,” he explains.
“Here, I did feel like I set some parameters sonically and at least with the tone and mood that I wanted to write to. I think I did a good job in setting that up and making sure everything lives in that world that we built.
“It’s interesting, because I haven’t really made an album like this before. Everything has been very song-based: make a song, immediately try and put the song out, just don’t stop releasing. With this one, I got to build a playground in which I was able to write in and let it flow in that way. It shaped the album and gave the album an identity.
“My last two albums (Dilworth, Sleepyhead) had an identity and they felt like a birth of my sound that I’m becoming known for. But now the sound has been established, I felt like it’s time to build a project that felt perhaps more cohesive and conceptual.”
Australian fans will receive their proper introduction to the Chin Up, Beautiful-era Jutes in 2027. Touring the country for the first time, supporting Dayseeker, it’s a trip that Jutes himself can’t help grinning over.
“It’s been a long time coming!” he says.
“First of all, I love Australians. I get along so well with Australians. As a Canadian, I think there’s a shared thing. Especially in Toronto, there are just so many Australians living there! I get along with them so well. My roommate for years was Australian, he’s my best friend, I think I’ve adapted a lot of the humour…I just get it. I love it. I think that I’m going to have a great connection with the fans there.”
And when it comes to the stage production, Jutes is excited to debut what he and his team have been working on over the past year for the first time in this area of the world. His headline shows have been growing in both profile and acclaim this year, performing across North America, Europe and the UK.
Being able to strike a kinetic energy at his shows and leave it all on the stage comes directly from being influenced by those powerful frontmen who came before him.
“My influences when I was a kid were always based on stage presence, I wanted to be like that,” Jutes says. “I always looked up to people who have had this raw presence on stage that was undeniable. I push myself very hard to be physically in it so much that when people watch it, they can tell that I’m really putting everything into it. I try to let it consume me, in a way.”
Thinking back to that sweaty day in July at Warped Tour, it’s clear that this ethos follows Jutes onto any and all stages he steps onto. Stretching each vocal, each physical movement across the large space he commanded, watching Jutes perform feels like you’re watching someone leave their body for a particular period of time.
It feels like Jutes is in a positive, natural rhythm with this chapter of his career.
“I’ve refined the show and elevated it,” he says proudly. “My performance and stage presence has grown a lot since the beginning of last year, so I think that the Australian fans will be getting a great version of the show.
I’m really proud that it will be the introduction of my live show for them. I’ve been doing a lot of headline stuff out here and I’ve always said that I’ll do a support tour when it’s a perfect situation, and this one is perfect.”
