Absolutely by Dijon

An Absolutely Delicious Discovery

I hate mustard. But I absolutely love Dijon.

Dijon's "Many Times" sprung out of my Google Home Mini last Thursday evening and drew me out of the adjacent room. What I intended for background music burst into the foreground with arrestingly emotional vocal delivery punctuated with lo-fi plinks and plucks. And my goodness, Dijon awarded my distraction with an evening of head bobbing and white-boy dancing once I queued up Absolutely. I don't think I've spent a day without it since.

At first, Dijon reminded me of Bon Iver's layered shout-singing over reverb and a sick drumkit on that first "Many Times." Then Anderson .Paak's raspy moody rhythm in "Annie." Then Frank Ocean's singularly intimate R&B on "Rodeo Clown." Then finally, a Springsteen impression during "Credits!" When I found the short film version of Absolutely linked above, the first comment on that video from Ryan O'Hara shared my thoughts:

"This is like Bright Eyes, D'Angelo, Bon Iver, Frank Ocean, Springsteen with a dash of Wilco all rolled into one unique and amazing artist. It comes at just the right time and is completely moving. Kids take note…the emotion and creativity that occurs in a room with people is mesmerizing..."

Several tracks don't pop out like others; you need a few soothers and chillers to catch a breath. And a little Americana does everyone good. This album's lo-fi energy and evocative lyrics bring out so much personality and heart without being overly explicit. It feels like listening to a fantastic artist crooning nostalgically from the living room sofa after kicking back a few cold ones. (Or, as the video suggests, a lot of cold ones!) What a vibe!

Of course, after listening through eleven times, I had to figure out what was happening with Dijon! Why didn't I know about this dude? Dijon released Absolutely in 2021, which is a lifetime ago. It's his first full-length album, and I am only entering his fandom now? For shame! I scoured the web for five minutes (skillfully evading anything mustard related) and found Dijon's site. He's in the middle of a sold-out tour (the worst kind of tour) without any stops near me (the second-worst kind). He spent a few months earlier this year touring in support of -- whaddya know -- Bon Iver. Oh, apparently, he made it "Jimmy Fallon big" this year too. And I have no idea how I figured this out, but he's got credits on Charli XCX's how i'm feeling right now (the worst song, but still). So he's got some traction, and I'm here for all of the steam.

For the first time in my life, I'm excited and thrilled to hear about the spread of Dijon. I hope you'll give it a try!