Close Encounters

"Close Encounters" is the fifth studio album from British recording artist Jack Stevens and was released on November 27, 2020 through JSM under exclusive license to Blush Recordings and marks Jack’s first collection of brand new material in a decade. The album was written and produced by Jack and long-time collaborators Shell Ruin and Knobfeelers. The album was be preceded by the number one single Masc For Masc. The album debuted at number one in the official albums chart on December 4, 2020 with sales of 179,911 copies.

Recording & composition
Recording for Jack’s fifth studio album Close Encounters was completed in secret at Jack’s home in The Cotswolds, during the Summer 2020 period when the majority of the United Kingdom was in lockdown due to the coronavirus pandemic. Jack recorded and produced the album from his home studio and worked remotely with his long-term collaborators Shell Ruin and Knobfeelers.

Initially reluctant to record an album, the process of recording simply began as a hobby and a chance to reconnect with Shell and his production team, during a time in which like many others Jack found he had more time on his hands and a desire to be creative in a time that felt the majority of those outlets had been taken from him. After recording in the early part of the Summer, Jack shelved the album but was eventually persuaded to ‘test the waters’ with the release of a Greatest Hits collection by friend and business partner Emily Henning, CEO of Blush Recordings who Jack signed an exclusive licensing and distribution deal with for his own imprint JSM.

After the critical success of the Greatest Hits collection and it’s accompanying single Nothing In Common, Jack was approached by Live Nation with an offer for a 2021 UK and Ireland stadium tour, reluctant to take to the road without new material, Jack and Shell revisited the collection of songs and created the album in late Summer 2020 with the announcement of the album and it’s first single Masc For Masc being made the same day as tickets for the Close Encounters Tour were released. Jack confirmed the name of the album and it’s accompanying tour was a play on the current situation the world finds itself in due to the coronavirus pandemic and the longing for “close encounters” during a time of social distance and lockdown.

Release & promotion
“Close Encounters” and the album’s lead single Masc For Masc were officially announced through a press release on October 16, 2020 alongside the release of tickets for Jack’s Close Encounters Tour which will accompany the album and showcase both his new material and classic hits. The album will be released on November 27, 2020 both digitally and through a number of physical formats which are to be confirmed. Jack launched the album campaign with a performance of the lead single Masc For Masc for the MTV European Music Awards and at at a live digital event The Masc-uerade Ball. In addition, Jack appeared for interviews on BBC's The Graham Norton Show and Breakfast as well as ITV's This Morning and The Jonathan Ross Show. He also performed Last Romeo on Strictly Come Dancing. Masc For Masc debuted at number one on the official Urapopstar singles chart on 20/11/2020 with sales of 131,986 copies, the track also reached number one on the official Urapopstar Airplay Chart.  After the initial success of the album in late 2020 - the campaign ran into difficulty in early 2021 after both Last Romeo and Slave To This were announced and then subsequently cancelled as singles, with an official statement from Blush Recordings citing personal difficulties. Eventually Last Romeo was confirmed as the official second single.

Critical Reception
‘Close Encounters’ received favourable reviews from critics, with many citing the album as the best of Jack’s career and praised the clear artistic growth from his last album, ‘Affirmative’ and that the collection benefited from being so cohesively crafted by Jack, Shell Ruin and Knobfeelers. Metro, The Guardian and NME gave the album four stars, while The Independent called the album “The best pop collection of the year”. Rolling Stone, MSN and Digital Spy all gave the album positive reviews and BBC Radio 2 gave the album it's album of the week title.

Tracklisting & formats
‘Close Encounters’ was released on a number of formats including digital editions, CD, multi-coloured vinyl’s and cassettes. During the week of the album release Jack announced and released two digital deluxe editions of the album with additional acoustic versions, remixes and video content from his ‘The Masc-uerade Ball live spectacular.

Chart Performance
‘Close Encounters’ debuted at number one on the official albums chart with sales of 179,911 copies. It has been certified Gold for sales in excess of 544,080 copies.