After releasing 4 EPs since 2017, Jake Wesley Rogers finally released his first full length album titled In The Key Of Love. Fans that are familiar with Rogers’ work will know to expect lyricism that is engulfed with emotion and intricate storytelling. In The Key Of Love encompasses all of those elements, but Rogers proves that he can take it a step further by writing a collection of songs that are his most vulnerable to date. Throughout this album, Rogers explores him being queer while growing up in the Bible Belt, while also focusing on bridging the gap between his past, his present, and his future. On his Instagram, Rogers stated, “I thought the only way out of this cage that is life would be finding the ‘key’ outside of me. Writing this album made me realize — and now will never forget — that everything that I could ever need is all right inside of me.”
In The Key Of Love is 11 songs and 36 minutes long, but it feels much shorter than that when you take the time to digest it. Rogers utilizes elements of glam rock and gospel infused pop to deliver a cohesive sound that perfectly matches the cohesiveness of the lyrical content. The production and mixing on this album was done flawlessly — to the point that you feel like the songs are melting into one another.
The album starts with the first track, “In The Beginning”, which feels like a warm introduction for the listener. It has snippets of every single song that is on the album while Rogers’ stacked vocals are growing in volume in the background before it transitions into the second track, “Hot Gospel”. “Hot Gospel”, one of the singles, is a standout track on the album not only because of the funky beat and youthful energy that it encompasses, but because it is the first glimpse of Rogers exploring him being queer while growing up in Missouri. You can feel the emotions in Rogers’ voice at the end of the song as he recalls his life journey moving from Missouri, to Nashville, to LA.
Some of the other standout songs on this album are “My Misery” and “God Bless”, which both happen to be singles as well. “My Misery” perfectly showcases Rogers’ ability with being vulnerable with his lyrics when he sings, “I saw my abuser in a dream / I somehow felt some empathy / I realized the pain that he’s in would always be worse for me and my misery”. This ability is also eloquently shown in “God Bless”, with the passionate chorus that screams, “God bless the straight man in a dress / God bless threesomes when I’m celibate / God bless doing mushrooms with an atheist / God bless, it’s a beautiful fucking mess / God bless the trans kid in Texas / God bless god’s that don’t exist / Sometimes, I wish it all would end”. Rogers further shows his ability to be vulnerable in a deeper way on the tracks “Tired Of Living” and “Kitchen Table”, both of which also showcase some of his rawest vocals on the entire album while also showing how great of a ballad Rogers can write and perform.
Jake Wesley Rogers’ debut album, In The Key Of Love, is as close to a perfect first album as you can possibly get. It is one of the most cohesive albums to have come out so far this year, and you can feel the love and effort that was poured into this piece of art in every single aspect. It is a beautiful testament to everything Rogers has been able to advocate and stand for as an artist, while also being able to be vulnerable with his fans (and the world) on a whole new level. Rogers has never been shy to be his authentic self in every single way which has created a safe space for so many people, especially individuals in the LGBTQIA+ community, but this album expands that safe space for his fans to revisit and spend some time with. And, unless you are living under a rock, then you know we could all use a safe space now more than ever. If you find yourself needing one, spend some time with In The Key Of Love.