Close Encounters

Close Encounters is the fifth studio album by British recording artist Jack Stevens and his first studio release since 2009’s ‘Affirmative’ and the first to be released through his own label JSM.

Background
Recording for Jack’s fifth studio album began in Spring 2020 at Jack’s home studio in the Cotswolds. Initially looking for a creative outlet during the initial coronavirus lockdown, Jack reached out to long-time collaborators and friends Shell Ruin and Knobfeelers and completed a number of virtual writing and recording sessions through video calls which resulted in a number of tracks being created. Still hesitant to release the body of work as an album Jack was encouraged to return to music by his friend Emily Henning and signed a distribution deal with her label Blush Recordings.

Jack’s return to music was teased with the release of a Greatest Hits album in the Summer of 2020 which received a mixed reaction from fans but would ultimately be certified Silver for sales in excess of 450,000 copies with the accompanying single ‘Nothing In Common’ certified Gold. Jack was then offered a multi-million-pound touring contract with Live Nation for a world tour which cemented his decision to release the album. Further recording sessions with Shell and Knobfeelers continued into late Summer 2020 and the album was finalised in September, ahead of the album’s announcement alongside the tour.

Influences
‘Close Encounters’ has been described as an ‘unashamedly pop album’ by Jack Stevens while the album’s executive producer Shell Ruin described the LP as a “sophisticated, clever and surprising record” while citing she was keen to push Jack and showcase new sides to him. The album was once again solely produced by Knobfeelers resulting in a cohesive album that still manages to experiment with new sounds while remaining true to the Stevens sound.

Release
'Close Encounters' was originally released on November 27, 2021 to all digital streaming services, digital download stores, supermarkets and Jack's official website on CD, Deluxe CD, multi-coloured vinyls and limited edition cassette formats. During the album's first week on sale, two further editions of the album were released, a 'Pants On' edition that featured a number of acoustic versions of tracks and video content and a 'Pants Off' edition which featured remixes of the album tracks. On April 23, 2021 an 'expanded' edition of the album was released to digital stores that included duets with Indigo Peak, Emily Henning and Paul that Jack had recorded for their personal albums and 'Nothing In Common' from 2020's Greatest Hits album.

Critical Reception
‘Close Encounters’ received unanimous praise from fans and critics alike and has a score of 95/100 on the Metacritic database based on 25 published reviews. Critics at The Guardian, NME, The Independent and The Times all gave the album strong reviews with many citing that Jack had made a record which had managed to successfully provide a nod to the past, while challenging his contemporaries. Rolling Stone stated the album showed clear artistic growth but proved Jack was still able to have fun with his lyrics and music. Both Attitude and Gay Times praised the LGBTQ+ themes of the album, specifically around its lead single ‘Masc For Masc’. BBC Music awarded the album 5/5 and stated Jack had not only made the album of his career, but one of the albums of the year. BBC Radio 2 was a strong supporter of the album and showcased a number of tracks from the album during a week of events to mark it’s release which culminated with Jack performing a live session for the Zoe Ball Breakfast Show on the release date.

Critics Choice Awards
In response to the success of ‘Close Encounters’, Jack was nominated for a number of awards at the inaugural Critics Choice Awards ceremony in 2021 including ‘Artist Of The Year’, ‘Comeback Of The Year’ and ‘Best Promotional Campaign’ for the lead single ‘Masc For Masc.

In total Jack was nominated in the following categories
 * Artist Of The Year
 * Best Male Artist
 * Best Pop/Dance Artist
 * Best Promotional Campaign (Masc For Masc)
 * Comeback Of The Year
 * Single Of The Year (Masc For Masc)

Jack was the winner of 'Best Male', 'Best Single' and 'Best Promotional Campaign'

Chart Performance
'Close Encounters' debuted at number one on the official albums chart and has since been certified Diamond for sales in excess of 1,934,435 copies across 33 weeks on the chart.

Personnel

 * Jack Stevens – lead vocals, songwriter, executive producer
 * Shell Ruin – songwriter, executive producer, vocals (track 8)
 * Emily Henning – vocals (track 12)
 * Knobfeelers – songwriter, production, all instrumentation.