jasmine.4.t – ‘You Are The Morning’ album review: an autobiographical and essential debut
THE SKINNY: You Are The Morning, the debut album by Manchester’s jasmine.4.t is of an exceptional sort. It’s not very often that an artist manages to lucidly bottle the many intricate layers of their personal life, build an album that’s constantly morphing musically, and do something that feels unique. But that’s precisely what she’s done with this effort. After a while of making waves underground, you get the sense that with backing from boygenius – Julien Baker, Phoebe Bridgers and Lucy Dacus – who produce the album, everything is set for a stellar career.
The album’s focal point is that the light breaks through every morning, no matter how black the darkness is when the new day enters. Jasmine.4.t is a trans woman, and the album candidly and intrepidly details her experiences after coming out as such. This encompasses their mixed reactions from her close friends, the divorce it precipitated, the precarious housing problems that followed, and, on the other hand, just how key friendship was to getting her through it all, by providing a sofa, warmth and support as she became who she really is. She credits this support from the community with saving her life, and the hues of this gratitude, as well as her concerted activism, are heard clearly in some of the songs.
Despite the earth-shattering pain that featured in this pivotal personal chapter for Jasmine, 4.t, broadly speaking, You Are The Morning is a positive album, no matter how emotional and profound some moments might be. Thanks to the power of her poetic nouse, vocal delivery, guitar playing, and band’s stylistic dexterity—an all-trans outfit going at it together—this is a body of work that leaves a mark.
Autobiographical, accomplished and thematically substantial, You Are The Morning has already made a great case for itself ahead of the mass of albums that are to follow in 2025. It’s an essential body of work. Have the tissues ready; this is new sincerity songwriting at its finest.
For fans of: Manchester, the warming contours of indie folk, and having badges on your satchel.
A concluding comment from your local hipster: “The sincerity here is so, powerful… I’m not gonna lie; this does way more for me than Brat ever did. I was lying about liking it. This is real music.”
You Are The Morning track by track:
Release date: January 17th | Label: Saddest Factory Records | Producer: Julien Baker, Phoebe Bridgers and Lucy Dacus
‘Kitchen’: Opening with the brilliant and deeply expressive finger-picked acoustic, this number immediately grabs your attention. As soon as jasmine.4.t’s heady vocals kick in, mellifluously singing sincere lyrics, you’re instantly won over. [4/5]
‘Skin On Skin’: Led by jasmine.4.t’s poetry, vocals and guitar again, it’s clear from the outset that this one is to be one that gradually unfolds, impressing itself upon the senses. It’s a glorious convergence of honesty, melodic splendour, textures and a welcome touch of defiant grit. [4/5]
‘Highfield’: A more sparse effort than what came before it, the third stop sees jasmine.4.t strip things back, and really lean into the power of her poetry and delivery. Offering a different side of her artistry, it features exquisite and atmospheric orchestral flecks, which really kick into gear at the end. [4/5]
‘Breaking In Reverse’: This is exactly the kind of song made for the live setting, with its expressive thuds of the drums, rousing strums and apt vocals. There’s no doubting the appeal of such tracks, particularly when noting that they contain another strong dose of jasmine.4.t as a human being. [4/5]
‘You Are The Morning’: There’s no surprise that the title track is absolutely stunning and the finest cut on the album up to this point. Featuring yet more excellent guitar playing, which taps into something intangible deep within, and touching lyrics such as “You are the morning / you make the grass grow”, this is the kind of resonant sentiment that only great songwriters can achieve, regardless of their personal contexts. [4.5/5]
‘Best Friend’s House’: Although this is one of the shortest efforts on the album, clocking in at one minute and 26 seconds, it embodies the communal spirit that ballasted the record’s creation. It features a chorus of jasmine.4.t’s bandmates, boygenius, Saddest Factory Records label-mate Claud, Becca Mancari and E.R. Fightmaster. It’s incredibly warming and serves as a warm candle of positivity in these increasingly bleak times. [4/5]
‘Guy Fawkes Tesco Dissociation’: Kicking off with a teasing country blast, the gloves are then ripped off, as what might well be the best moment on the entire album unfolds. Boasting a potent vocal melody, equally as touching lyrics, and a simple but effective chord progression, this is one of the instant classics of 2025. The chorus will be stuck in your head for a while. [4.5/5]
‘Tall Girl’: Extracted from her personal experiences, this is another example of jasmine.4.t delving into her arc, using music as a means of healing, and, on the other hand, creating a singalong to which listeners can attach their own contexts. Brilliant. [4/5]
‘New Shoes’: A slower, profoundly introspective moment, the emotion is tangible here, as the lyrics, vocals and melancholic piano converge for much of the song before the crunching guitars emerge at the end. [4/5]
‘Roan’: Does the title of this song refer to Chappell Roan? Who knows. Regardless, this is another intensely personal composition that reveals even more of jasmine.4.t’s psyche. It will no doubt make many stretch for the nearest box of tissues. [4/5]
‘Elephant’: Despite being coloured with a heightened amount of candour, which is matched by ample sadness, this is another track that will leave an immediate mark on listeners. It’s a little bit emo, a little bit art rock, and has a heavier edge than most of the other tracks on You Are The Morning. [4/5]
‘Transition’: There are no vocals, just haunting, warped, almost Church choir-like backing vocals, which aptly deliver the message of the title before pushing into the final track, the denouement of the record.[4/5]
‘Woman’: This is about as full-frontal as it gets. The final song is the sonic representation of what jasmine.4.t has experienced and her coming through the other side. “I am in my soul a woman” is the simplest but most important line contained in the entire album. [4.5/5]
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