Jonah Kagen Talks the “Scary” Experience of Baring His Soul on His Sophomore LP, ‘Eternity of Anything’ (Exclusive)

Jonah Kagen isn’t holding anything back. For his sophomore LP, Eternity of Anything, Kagen ditched the on-the-fly writing that defined his previous release, and instead turned inward, creating a deeply personal collection of songs that laid his soul bare like never before.

“In the first album, I went out, and I kind of just surrendered to the environment a little bit,” Kagen told American Songwriter. “I was like, ‘Whatever happens to me, I’m just gonna write about it. I’m gonna go live this way, and then this album is gonna be my way of documenting what’s going on, and what’s happening to me, and what I’m thinking about.’”

That process offered Kagen a bit of a “reprieve” from any potential criticism. He allowed himself no such safety net this time around, writing, producing, and mix the album all on his own.

“This one, I really gave myself no excuse. I just locked myself in a room for a couple months, and I decided to turn inward and pull out everything that was going on inside of me,” he said. “… I really didn’t bring people along, because I wanted it to be as much of my thumbprint as it could possibly be. That makes the release that much more scary. There’s no out on this one.”

Jonah Kagen Talks the Themes and Sounds of His Sophomore Album

Thanks to the absence of collaborators, Kagen was able to be honest in a major way, as he explored themes of love from the perspective of someone who hasn’t found it yet.

“It’s very dramatic. It starts with this perfect image of what I think love should be as somebody who’s not had it, and somebody who is entering the back half of my 20s and is sort of desperate to find it,” he said. “I’m constantly thinking about it and all of its implications. I paint this picture of, here’s this beautiful thing, and then it kind of just goes into the every failure that I’ve had in searching for it.”

For Kagen, the sonic aspect of the album was just as important as the lyrical one. Throughout the making of the album, he worked to build on the stage he set with his freshman release.

“My take on record development is that your sophomore album should be an embellishment on the first. I think you should showcase what you’ve learned, take the soul of what you have been doing, and bring it to a new level, a new place,” he said. “That was kind of what I was trying to do. I was gonna take the spirit of Sunflowers and Leather and bring it to a place that was a bit more musical, sometimes a bit more grandiose.”

Taking cues from the likes of Bon Iver, Kagen sought to take “weird production risks” on the LP. He showcased new musical know how through the use of grooves, strings, and horns.

Jonah Kagen Breaks Down Standout Tracks on Eternity of Anything

Fans got the first taste of Kagen’s new era with the album’s lead single, “Don’t Feel Right.”

“I’m really proud of the production on that one. It’s dark in a way that the previous album was not. I think it kind of was just a palate cleanser for what’s to come,” he said. “… This is what I’m gonna be talking about, this feeling of loving when love doesn’t feel right.”

He followed that up with “Do Better,” an anthemic dance tune that Kagen hopes people will listen to in a car with the windows rolled down.

Then there’s “Ain’t Convinced.” Kagen took perhaps his biggest departure yet with the song for which he sampled a Fred Again song.

“I think Fred is a genius. I have really admired what he does as a producer and as a musician. It’s so cool, and so creative, and so simple,” he said. “I was listening to some of his older songs. There was something that I heard, and I was really inspired by it. I decided to sample it, and ended up getting it cleared. I’m really excited for that one, ’cause it’s cool to pay homage to somebody that I was inspired by.”

While “Silhouette” stands out for both its writing and arrangement and “4AM” is unique in the way it “comes at you like a truck,” it’s “Words From a Wandering Man” that Kagen considers his favorite song that he’s ever written. The closing song on the LP, Kagen was inspired by Ryan Beatty as he crafted the track.

“There’s a way that he ends some of the songs with this instrumental, really emotional down spot. I had never considered that in my music, and that’s how the last song ends,” he said. “There are some songs that just absolutely hit the nail on the head of what you’re trying to say. It doesn’t mean that it’ll land for everybody, but it certainly means that this is exactly what I was trying to say. I’m confident in that. That’s a rare thing.”

Jonah Kagen Discusses His Hopes for His Latest Album

When he’s old and gray, Kagen hopes that the album will serve as a reminder of how he viewed love at this stage of his life.

“I think it’ll be a fun thing to look back on, hopefully, if I do find this thing that I’m describing,” he said. “I will be able to look at this as a stamp or a tattoo of a period where it was just an idyllic thing that I had no understanding of, but had this hopeful image of.”

If that’s not how it lands for everyone, though, that’s fine by Kagen.

“I have always had the philosophy that these songs are not mine once they’re out… They only do something for me when they’re being of service by belonging to everyone else,” he said. “The more that I tour, the more that I realize that these songs take on their own lives. They become a part of people’s lives. That’s what I want. These are your songs. Go take it. Make it a part of your life.”

Photos by Olivia Bee