By Molly Tursi
Staff Writer
Rebounding after a three-year hiatus, the genre-bending musician Joji has returned to music for the first time under the liberty of his own record label, Palace Creek.
Hailing from a former comedy stint as the YouTube persona FilthyFrank, George Kusunoki Miller was encouraged to refine his career into the moniker Joji after a series of grievous health concerns and creative burnout. Since announcing his departure from YouTube in 2017, the Japanese singer and songwriter has released three studio albums, garnering public and professional traction with songs “SLOW DANCING IN THE DARK,” “Die For You” and “Glimpse of Us.”
With a fourth record set for Feb. 6, Joji released a sporadic series of singles throughout the fall of 2025. To bind the four songs together, the musician released the four tracks from his upcoming album “Piss In The Wind” to Spotify in EP format twice — first with “LOVE YOU LESS” and again with the five-track “Last of a Dying Breed.”
As the newest addition to the album’s pre-releases, the titular “Last of a Dying Breed,” pushes the latest EP to a novel start. Opening with an elegiac pace of sound and instrumentation, the song invites a wash of grief and sorrow to the table. The symbolism of the lyrics delves into being in love with the qualities of a person despite knowing the love is impermanent and metaphorically, a dying breed.
The EP continues on this note with “LOVE YOU LESS,” a song about conflicting attachment issues stymying the development of a relationship. The guitar defines this track, creating an electric wail amongst the full sound of strumming and Joji’s somber vocals.
The third track, “Past Won’t Leave My Bed,” is a lyrical rumination of heartbreak and an unforgettable past. Offering itself as the most vulnerable track on the album, its emotions are felt as Joji lays everything to bare.
“If It Only Gets Better” complements the prior track with the simple encouragement of moving forward after love and loss. Joji sings, “If it only gets better from here / Then what’s there to change about it?” emphasizing the importance of allowing time to heal.
The final song, “PIXELATED KISSES,” channels a louder and abrasive sound than heard before. While forceful in sound, the song is the weakest of the EP and is eclipsed by the preceding tracks of the EP.
Joji’s “Last of a Dying Breed” holds a heavy and brooding sound for a succinct yet lingering 11 minutes, whispering what is to come with his forthcoming album. Running 21 tracks long with 16 songs excluded from the two EPs, “Piss In The Wind” will be available to stream on Feb. 6.
