JOBIE

As the saying goes: “All good things must come to an end.” It seems that in this life, joy is fleeting, coming into our lives for brief periods of time, only to depart when we least expect it, leaving us with fragmented memories of what once was. Singer/songwriter, Josie Arthur — known by her stage name, JOBIE — adeptly captures this plight in her newest single, “All for One,” a track full to the brim with deep introspection and wistful reverie. - Atwood Magazine

Looking back on her new single “Super Model,” Josie Arthur (she/they), who releases music as JOBIE, is unsure if the lyrics landed quite like she wanted them to.

“I wrote the song when I was in a relationship that I low-key wasn't that happy in,” she told me over Zoom. “And I was thinking, if I was above all of this, I could leave.”

Arthur, an Emerson College student from Richmond, Virginia, has been making her way around Boston performance spaces, from open mics to Allston basement shows, to opening for fellow Emerson alum Sidney Gish this April.

They had women like Bella Hadid, who are “born superduper rich and just do whatever,” in mind when they were writing “Super Model,” which was released on July 5. However, they worry that lyrics like “I wish I looked like a super model” perpetuate the idea that all people should be striving for unattainable super model looks.

“[The song is] saying that mentality is bad, but I don't know if that's clear to somebody listening.”

If you listen to the rest of the chorus, Arthur sings, “Cause I would do anything I thought of/Private jets, trips to the Bahamas/To get away from you.” These lyrics argue exactly what she says she was trying to get across: in some ways, the Bella Hadids of the world really do have it easier.

The track opens with just Arthur and a guitar, its sound building with each verse to layer atmospheric synth effects, eventually adding a laid-back and understated drum beat, soft background vocals, and some pizzicato string plucks that still place Arthur’s velvety and powerful voice center stage. “Super Model” channels Soccer Mommy, Phoebe Bridgers, and something else entirely—consistent with Arthur’s idea that no one artist overwhelmingly influences her music, but rather bits and pieces of a multitude of songs.

Although “Super Model” is their most recent song, it was actually one of the first songs Arthur performed in front of people. They wrote it when they were 17 and attending a songwriting intensive at Berklee School of Music in Boston. The program opened her mind up to her own songwriting talents, and several years later she’s rising to stardom in the Boston underground music scene.

Becoming a musician was always in the cards for Arthur. She grew up in Virginia in a house where she was always surrounded by instruments and her parents making music. Her father was a career musician and although her mother was not a professional singer, she always sang with him.

Throughout her childhood and adolescence, she focused on musical theater, even applying to college as an acting major. However, songwriting was always in the back of her mind and during quarantine, something clicked. “I was writing a ton of songs,” Arthur said, “then I kind of realized that this is kind of the most important thing to me. And the thing that I enjoy the most.”

While she is still pursuing a degree in theatre and performance (and a minor in religious studies) from Emerson, Arthur has put her all into making and performing music.

The hard work has paid off. “Super Model” is a must-add to a playlist made for a cathartic belting session in the car alone. What really tugs at you however, is the desperation verging on resignation in lyrics like “The world gets warmer/I just get fucking colder.” The unsaid flip side of “I wish I looked like a super model” and “I would do anything I thought of…To get away from you” is I don’t, so I can’t. Arthur captures the frustration of being trapped in a world that values good looks and productivity over genuine contentment, the frustration of being against these sentiments but still wishing that the easy way out (being hot and rich) was within reach. - BC Gavel

Josie Arthur (she/they), known professionally as JOBIE, released her debut album “grendel” on January 6th, a release she described as “my own personal insurrection.” Known for depressingly lovely music and their gorgeous voice, JOBIE is a frequent performer on the Emerson campus and in the underground Boston scene, performing at launch parties, (including the Milk Crate zine launch!) house shows in Allston, sustainable swap events, and opening for Sidney Gish at the WECB live show last spring. She’s released two singles from the album thus far, “bottom of the sea” and “cruel vice,” growing immense anticipation for her debut album. The eight-track album is beautiful, with romantic and heartbreaking lyrical storytelling that is stomach-dropping sad, deeply personal, and profoundly relatable. Composed of iridescent lyricism and raw, gorgeous vocals, “grendel” is a magical and charming debut album of stunning sad girl folk, a promising first entry into JOBIE’s discography.

The opening track “take my coat” is a plunge headfirst into the vivid, melancholic songwriting that has been threaded through JOBIE’s existing discography.he song is supplemented sonically by a chorus of chirping birds and an acoustic guitar, accompanying the lyrics “And I wouldn’t mind spending my whole life / In reclining chairs just watching the people pass by / I’m in my element, I felt it one time.” JOBIE finds solace in what seems stale, as their ache for love seems to intersect with a lust for life, a desire for something, for anything. The lyrics “I’m a girl in my prime / Oh god let me feel it this time” had been pulled from somewhere deep in a collective sad girl subconscious, so deeply personal and powerful. They encapsulate a desire not just for love, but for love as time slips away– as the fresh face of youth begins to tarnish.

The second track,“all is well,” is laced with regret, as JOBIE colorfully reflects on a love that was pure fallacy, enriching heartbreak with vivid descriptions as she sings “I’m digging my own grave / And your resentment hits me like a tidal wave.” The sadness is cut with scissors of self-awareness in her lyricism, and the light acoustic instrumentation adds to her melancholy, soft percussion supplementing the forlorn melody. Her heartbreak comes out in the lyrics “And I’m a sorry dancer / with a moon in cancer / and you’ve gotten under my skin / and all the ghosts are gone now / they got up and walked out / I’m still dancin,’” but so does her resilience, her heart fortified and her eyes, though stained by saltwater, are dry.

“bottom of the sea,” which was released as a single on November 25, 2022, fits flawlessly into the album, conveying JOBIE’s prowess for musical metaphor, as her melody of heartbreak is depicted in adventures to the bottom of the sea and the center of the earth. On TikTok, they promoted this song with text saying “respectfully i made this song for people that hate themselves.” With Spotify streams climbing and climbing, it seems they have lodged themself confidently into this melodramatic and sad girl demographic, one that includes myself.

The album journeys from the bottom of the sea to pits of absolute depression with “so clean,” a piano ballad for loneliness itself to slow dance to. as. The slow, melodic piano follows JOBIE as she sings “You must look down on me / I’m not what you thought I’d be,” lyrics so painful they hit like a knife to the gut. The somber piano notes delicately blend with the background vocals to perfectly highlight her stunning voice, making for a haunting melody with lyricism soaked in desolation, creating a beautiful, heartbreaking listen. - WECB Milkcrate