Joji has returned with another cinematic video, this time for his song “Test Drive.”
The new visual is set in the desert, where, throughout, the former YouTube personality tries on different personas: he’s suspended in air in a straight jacket—which he later tries to get out of—he drives a vespa in a white wedding dress, and he sits in a rocking chair, wearing a white undershirt and cap, and cradles a shotgun. Each new character perhaps alludes to the song’s title and the lyric, “She just want a test drive.”
Joji recently announced the forthcoming release of his debut album BALLADS 1, which is set to release Oct. 26 via 88rising.
Speaking with Pigeons & Planesin 2017, he explained how his childhood influenced the calming aesthetic of his music. “My hometown is in Japan and there was a lot of water around me,” he said. “When I was young, me and some kids would go down to the rice fields. We would catch frogs and stuff and I think I learned to enjoy quiet, peaceful things. When I make music, I'm trying to recreate that feeling a lot.”
The “Test Drive” video follows the visual for Joji’s song “Slow Dancing in the Dark.” BALLADS 1 will also serve as Joji's return to solo material after he contributed vocals to 88rising's crew album, Head in the Clouds, in July.
