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Photo: Nico Hernandez

As Jean Dawson continues his trilogy rollout, the misfit superstar is letting us peer into the fragile, unseen bits of him on the vulnerable “DESTRUCTION FOR DUMMIES”, PT. 2 JEAN DAWSON AS "NIGHTMARE".

Consisting of the three tracks, “NO SCOPE,” “X-RAY,” AND “VEXED,” Dawson continues to prove himself a musician unfazed by risk or artistic innovation. As a follow-up to "XCAPE", PT. 1 JEAN DAWSON AS "PHOENIX", he’s shapeshifting through a new alter ego, “NIGHTMARE.”

“NO SCOPE” opens up the project with a piano-driven, anti-pop ballad that strips Dawson of his armor. Holding his breath and heart, hiding within the guise of a character has set Dawson the most free. It’s only within his own deconstruction that he begins to fully form. 

Grunge yet optimistic, Dawson confronts the looming shadow of his solitude through insomnia and abandonment on the next track, “X-RAY.” It stands out as the most bare single on the project, affirming that even those closest to the artist may have yet to really see him. 

“VEXED” serves as a homecoming, a celebratory reckoning as he surrenders into the unequivocal truth of who Dawson is. He’s not interested in cleaning the mess he’s made, but rather, nestling into it more comfortably. 

Though artists like The Weeknd have charioted similar experiments, Dawson is ultimately walking down an unpaved road, led by his own unfolding and bringing performance art back to music. As witnesses to his colorful, winding journey, with each new departure, we inch ourselves anxiously forward toward the edge of our seats, all to catch a better glimpse of who he is to become next. 

Listen to “DESTRUCTION FOR DUMMIES”, PT. 2 JEAN DAWSON AS "NIGHTMARE" below: