J. Albert - I want to be good so bad | Album Review

Trace Davidson
May 5
2 min read

/// A Quiet Evolution

Some albums slip under the radar not because they’re forgettable, but because they’re quietly transformative. J. Albert's I Want To Be Good So Bad is exactly that kind of record.

Released in July 2024, it almost passed me by—an oversight considering how firmly it cements a new chapter for the artist. Compared to his earlier releases—the vibrant EP Onomatopoeia and the more groove-driven collaboration album with Will August Parks—I Want To Be Good So Bad marks a stark turn inward.

Gone are the heavy programmatic beats and jazz-tinged soundscapes. In their place: minimalism, texture, and a hypnotic embrace of stillness.

/// The Sound of Restraint

From the opening track, "Auto-Life," you're plunged into an puddle of feedback, pulses, and distant rhythms. For 15 minutes, Jay constructs an atmosphere that feels at once sterile and intimate—corporate background music reimagined as an emotional soundscape. A simple bass drum anchors the piece, so soft it almost feels like a heartbeat rather than a beat.

Elsewhere on the album, "Dispel" shines in ambient growth. Airy synth waves crest and recede, stitched together by a subdued bass synth that tiptoes around melody. It's a patient album — where spikes of sound and dips into silence feels considered, not accidental.

Despite its minimalism, the album never feels empty. Jay masterfully fills the space with breathy textures and evolving tones, creating a sonic environment that's both hypnotizing and strangely immersive. It's background music that demands your foreground attention when you least expect it.

/// Searching for Good

The title I Want To Be Good So Bad hints at an internal tension. It’s hard not to wonder — is this Jay's reflection on his previous work?

Rather than read as a self-critique, the album feels like a breakthrough. It sounds like the work of an artist comfortable not chasing to sound like something — techno, house, ambient — but instead trusting his instincts.

Following this album, he’s ventured even further afield. His side projects —MAXAMBIENT and Secret Third Thing — show a restless spirit refusing to settle. Whether it’s turning ambient textures up to eleven or dipping into Midwest emo with fuzzy guitars and tiny vocals, J. Albert seems liberated.

/// Final Thoughts

I Want To Be Good So Bad feels less like a destination and more like a landmark — the pivot point in an artist's story where exploration takes precedence over perfection. It's an album that invites you to slow down, to listen between the spaces, and to appreciate the vulnerable act of searching.