After three years of relative silence, Japanese-Australian alternative R&B architect Joji hasn’t just staged a comeback; he has engineered a quiet, yet cacophonous, reentry to the scene with his self-produced single, “PIXELATED KISSES.”
This short, sharp shock of a song is less a polished radio attempt and more a chaotic, glitch-core manifesto, suggesting Joji has finally wrestled back the controls of his own sound and replaced pristine pop aesthetics with glorious digital decay.
Shy of two minutes, “PIXELATED KISSES” delivers a succinct hit of high-tension alt-R&B, setting a distinct tone for a fresh era following his 2022 album, SMITHEREENS.
Lyrically, Joji dives deep into the anxieties of modern dating, dissecting the hollow chase for connection across great distances, a “digital love song” lamenting the limitations of intimacy blurred by static screens and satellites.
The core theme is captured succinctly in the hook: “‘Pixelated kisses got me goin’ insane / Replicate this moment from a million miles away,'” speaking to the longing for real presence in an increasingly disconnected world.
The lyric “‘If you never hear from me, all the satellites are down'” serves as a perfect metaphor for total disconnection.
Sonically, the track is built on a stunning juxtaposition, which is arguably its highest artistic merit. Joji deploys his signature vocal style and laid-back, hypnotic hook, but suspends them over a foundation of pure aggression: a crushing hiphop type beat marked by gritty bass tones and synths.
The overall production possesses a deliberate roughness and a dense, grating texture that contrasts sharply with his previously laidback material like “GLIMPSE OF US” or “Slow Dancing in the Dark.”
One could argue this sonic palette, described as “digital chaos,” is indicative of the modern age, reflecting the fragmented focus and relentless scroll that defines our current mental landscape.
The result is an icy and psychedelic new direction that immediately resonates with the industrial, avant-garde sounds of his earlier work, particularly Ballads 1.
Fittingly, “PIXELATED KISSES” marks Joji’s first release under his new imprint, Palace Creek, with distribution handled by Virgin Music under Universal Music Group.
This shift follows years of speculation among fans that Joji had limited creative control over his output, particularly concerning the writing and production credits on SMITHEREENS.
By entirely writing, producing, and recording this single himself, Joji signals a return to artistic autonomy and experimentation, defying expectations set during his time as a global R&B mainstay following his initial fame as the irreverent YouTuber Filthy Frank.
While short, “PIXELATED KISSES” feels less like a quiet reentry and more like a defiant artistic statement. If this intense, burnt-out sound is the result of Joji finally being freed from the shackles, then may the signal never come back online.