j solomon Moved West to Kill The Rockstar
The Concrete Jungle spat out the initial drafts of j solomon’s newest work, and it lingered until the City of Angels nursed it to completion. Pennsylvania-raised Jesse Moldovsky let his other half, his creative project, j solomon, transform and bloom through his migration out west. The self-proclaimed (although I’d agree) niche indie rockstar’s (NIR) latest EP, “KILL THE ROCKSTAR” was incubated for two years before its unveiling and is the product of indecision, a new chapter and both coasts.
Jesse Moldovsky has been spending time in Joshua Tree, watching Andrew Young’s “Friendship” and sipping winter melon green tea boba while j solomon gears up to release one of his most conceptual albums to date. In 2023, while living in New York City, j solomon put out his first EP, “Sleeping in the Garden,” and didn’t know where to go from there. He went on to release his punk-forward single, “Trick,” and then starkly contrasted that with the folk track, “Cohabitate.” Then he moved to Los Angeles. Now, settled in his new way of life, j solomon is ready for the next chapter: the “KILL THE ROCKSTAR” chapter. Marking the end of the ‘23 era and the genesis of the next, the six-track record is the soundtrack of the death of the NIR… and the birth of your new favorite superstar.
“[The EP] started as a buffer, but as it went on, there were songs that weren’t throwaways, but wouldn’t be included if I were making an album. They were very time-capsule-in-this-indie-rock-era, and as I got deeper and deeper into the process, the more it started to make sense; not just as a collection of songs, but an actual project with a thesis and aesthetic and ideas behind the story.”
Visuals and aesthetics play a large role in j solomon’s world. Thus, building the NIR character was important to Moldovsky, even though he feels that his latest project is the farthest from Jesse he’s ever been.
Fans first got a taste of this new era in the two preceding singles “GLASS” and “DAMN RAT BASTARDS” at the end of 2024. As standalones, the tracks are strong and refined, but in the context of the full EP, j solomon believes they will be reborn. “KILL THE ROCKSTAR” is accompanied by a strong, flushed-out identity — the last of the NIR: nuanced, rugged and electric.
Sonically, “KILL THE ROCKSTAR” lies somewhere at the intersection of gritty indie rock and Spotify’s “pulp” playlist, with undercurrents of folk-pop. Or maybe that’s just j solomon’s sound. Carrying the influences of suburbia folk, the searing NYC basement scene and now a mellower, organic LA is what makes this project dynamic, gripping and downright addicting.
The EP has gone through many phases and has had many makeovers. Two years of hemming, hawing and personal development will do that to a project. “There were songs that we’d pretty much finished on the East Coast, but after moving and taking a couple of months to get my life in order, I went back and was like ‘Oh, these are not actually finished, we have to go back to square one,’” Moldovsky explained.
“KILL THE ROCKSTAR” was made to be listened to with friends. It’s punchy, it’s honest, it’s fun until you kind of want to cry — but won’t. With his paramount release, Moldovsky transcends niche indie rockstar to breakthrough household-name rockstar; and, if he gets his way, j solomon will soon be playing his latest and greatest live at a high school football field near you.
