#77777

Tonight a couple of OG skaters took me aside just to tell me how much I've grown since they first saw me on the floor, reminding me that even though it may feel like a plateau, I'm steadily rising. Reminding me not to compare, not to sleep on my own improvement. One of them was like, "I've seen you at every rink within a 30-mile radius, girl. It's beautiful when you're doing your thing." Just real wholesome energy. A sense of belonging. The other thing that sticks is Manny telling me, "You already got the fundamentals, I promise you that. Now you gotta lose control a little bit and let it be a little crazy. You don't know what you can do yet, and I wanna see you unlock that." Oop. That's applicable on and off the eights. It feels like angels keep popping up to tell me that I will lose my way if I get complacent. I'm tryna do some shit I've never done before and that's what everyone around me wants for me, too.

77777 is crazy bc it lays the groundwork for what joywave as a band would become while also simultaneously being its own stunning self-contained imprint of story and emotion. you can sense every purposeful choice in the lyrics, instrumentals, production, mixing, and track order. it paints a beautiful picture of a tragic time, but the time itself is transient: we feel space launch, a relationship cracking and drifting, and the internal journey of someone who is learning to be their own, all woven together in nonlinear parts. we are shown clarity and daze through masterful stereo mixing, especially on vocals. 77777 is more than an album, it is a life told through the dimension of time and sound.