Chilli Jesson drops ‘St. Vitamin’ EP + video for ‘WDTYCWDWTHY’

Chilli Jesson

‘St. Vitamin’ EP

Out Now

LISTEN HERE

Watch WDTYCWDWTHY visual HERE

We know Chilli Jesson and we don’t. The name is familiar, the charm is unforgettable, the hair remains iconic and he still knows his way around a tune or two. And yet- Chilli Jesson’s role as the darkly-comedic, truth-telling, pop-sensation we never knew we needed is a new one.

Having released three infectious singles as an introduction to this current incarnation (as his true pop tinged, tongue-in-cheek self) – today he releases the full collection as the ‘St. Vitamin’ EP. Listen HERE.

The title track kicked things off at the back end of 2021 with its exuberant and vivacious sound, complete with a dub-step inspired, club-worthy chorus (here). ‘Love is a Serious Mental Illness’ followed in early spring; his heart-on-his-sleeve dive into the mental health epidemic confronting us all, Chilli softens the edge of the subject matter by being completely self-aware and unashamedly honest; happily exposing his own vulnerabilities that lie at the core of the song. “I want to encourage us to dismantle the toxic masculinity that stands at the forefront of music and to open up a dialogue on what healthy relationships are and the way they are presented to us in popular culture”.

‘White Room’ followed suit just a few weeks ago, which delves into those untapped spaces of our minds confronting anxious thoughts, depressive states of mind and an internal battle of dreams vs reality in this Flaming Lips tinged track. After Palma Violets split, Chilli found himself working in a pub and back at his mum’s flat living in his childhood bedroom and battling with a deep depression. Seeing himself as a failure at the mere age of 21, having toured the world and playing countless festivals from 17 years old left him staring at the spongey white walls of rock bottom. But he wrote himself out of it.

‘WDTYCWDWTHY’ completes the puzzle for the full EP on which Chilli talks openly about putting himself on this emotional podium. The song’s anti-chorus, we didn’t tell you ‘cos we didn’t want to hurt you twinkles in the background, the sinister falsetto voices embodying the anxiety and fear that comes with being an artist, and what’s more, being an artist brave enough to do something new, unexpected and what many of your peers would deem uncool…  “These songs are like therapy for me.”

So when did this pop conversion take place? It’s not as shocking as it may at first seem.

During his time in Palma Violets, Chilli wrote ‘Best of Friends’. So much more than just an indie banger, it was essentially the perfect pop song: gutsy, joyous and unforgettable.  Nowadays, Chilli still approaches songwriting in the exact same way as he did back then, “it’s all written on an acoustic guitar, on a sofa or in a bedroom, it’s still collaborative, but it’s just dressed a little differently this time around”.

Unconstrained by his musical past and driven totally by emotion, all of Chilli’s new songs on this EP are sizzling with innovative melodies and voluptuous, weighty beats. Currently taking inspiration from the likes of Declan Mckenna, Mura Masa and Lana Del Rey, the songs feel genuinely new and their uplifting and playful melodies that dance and joke unexpectedly with the rhythm, like in final seconds of ‘White Room’, help to single Chilli out of the pop-en-mass, much like the edginess of his vocal delivery and the raucousness of his live performances. There is an innate rock’n’roll energy here that you just can’t fake.

With this new EP we witness Chilli going through the motions in real time: we watch him realise it, express it, attempt to come to terms with it and then bottle it at the last minute by cracking a few jokes. “I don’t claim to be an expert on this stuff, or to have all the answers, I’ve just experienced my fair share of it.” Through the vehicle of these pop songs, Chilli Jesson is forging connections, be them emotional or on the dancefloor.  He’s holding out his hand and saying “yeh I’m hurting too, isn’t life fucked, now lets sing this chorus and laugh about it”.

‘St. Vitamin’ EP is out now on Fiction Records:

1. St. Vitamin2. Love Is A Serious Mental Illness3. WDTYCWDWTHY4. White Room

Live shows:

23/4 – DIY Alive festival

01/5 – Liverpool Sound City

12/5 – The Great Escape @ The Green Door Store

‘St. Vitamin’ artwork