Portland, Oregon’s Nick Jaina releases his latest album, Credo, on 21 May via Fluff and Gravy Records on vinyl and as a digital download. The record will arrive on streaming services later in the year. Jaina began the record in late 2019 at Fluff and Gravy Studios while living in his car and had no personal possessions. He worked with instruments available to him in the studio to finish the material. When a flood overtook the studio, and the 2020 pandemic overtook the rest of the world, Jaina kept his head down, crafting an album filled with his singular vision.
According to a press release issued by the venerable imprint about the record, “None of the instruments are vying for attention because they are all nodes of the same beast. As are we all fighting and laughing in separateness until we remember we’re all one. This we believe. This is our credo.”
The new single from Credo, “A Wolf in Wolf’s Clothing” stands as classic Jaina: Deeply literate lyrics that express something we’ve all thought before but never been able to express with such clarity and insight, musical hooks that provide warmth and comfort no matter how challenging or disquieting their vocal companions may be.
Jaina says, “It’s a song about social justice writers like Sarah Kendzior, Rebecca Traister, and Rebecca Solnit, modern-day Cassandras who have told great truths and not been believed. And how they are talking about the most obvious, verifiable situations from a place of expertise, and people are often too committed to their bent vision that they refuse to see it. The vibe is inspired by Josiah Johnson of the Head and the Heart, who uses languorous grooves to talk about very real emotional truths.”