JJ & The Mood Redefine Strength on “Tired of Being Tough” - 26 July 2024

JJ & The Mood releases their single “Tired of Being Tough” available on July 26th on Digital Formats via Trailing Twelve Records.

Following the success of their debut singles “Whatcha Need” and “How Many Times”, alt-pop disco duo JJ & The Mood return with a promise of realness. “Tired of Being Tough”, the duo’s third single, declares a commitment to letting go of society’s unrealistic expectations of masculinity. JJ & The Mood’s signature funk, gospel, and indie pop fusion, is the foundation for their most danceable track yet. Through driving drums and an ecstatic synth bass, “Tired of Being Tough” recontextualizes strength, catharsis and masculinity.

JJ & The Mood is composed of Cincinnati-based multi-hyphenate cartoonist Jack Sjogren and songwriter & producer Joey Joesph. With only a few songs released, the duo has already garnered massive success with their smash “How Many Times”, which was used as the soundtrack to a global iPhone Ad Campaign. They regularly appear on KCRW’s Morning Becomes Eclectic, and frontman Jack Sjogren’s book was featured in Oprah’s Book Club. Undeterred by their large success, the duo's achievements start intimately with the creation of “therapy dance music” that is “not self-serious but serious about being yourself.”

“Tired of Being Tough” is an example of JJ & The Mood’s playful determination to embrace themselves. The track starts off with an exciting drum fill before it soars into a four-on-the-floor beat. Over the pulsating rhythm, Sjogren announces “I’m tired of being tough / I’m done with being cool / I’m sick of standing around all serious, not dancing like a fool.” The song then explodes into dance breaks, hypnotic vocal hooks, and arpeggiated synths.

The inviting production leaves space for the lyrical themes to be front and center. “‘Tired of Being Tough’ is about my journey of unlearning the mores of toxic masculinity and meeting my emotions when they arise rather than stifling them,” Sjogren shares. “In my early twenties, I desperately wanted to seem like an unsmiling, SERIOUS artist. This defense mechanism led to a deep depression and a dissonance between the true joy I felt in my heart and the callous exterior I tried to project. As I’ve grown up, I’ve realized that meeting myself where I am is healthier than focusing on how I think I should be. I wanted to speak that freedom into my own life, which is how I started writing this song.”

On “Tired of Being Tough”, JJ & The Mood get serious about being silly, and being yourself. They prove that strength isn’t always about acting tough, but maybe it’s about allowing oneself to experience the wide range of human emotions.

“Tired of Being Tough” is out July 26th via Trailing Twelve Records.

Written and Recorded by Joey Joesph and Jack Sjogren, Trailing Twelve (ASCAP)
Performed By JJ & The Mood, Trailing Twelve (ASCAP) 

Photos by Samuel Greenhill

Cover Art by Jack Sjogren and Samuel Greenhill

TTRS-062
© & ℗ 2023 Trailing Twelve Records. All Rights Reserved. Unauthorized Copying, Reproduction, Hiring, Lending, Public Performance, And Broadcasting Strictly Prohibited.

Release Date: 26 July 2024
Release Title: Tired of Being Tough
Artist: JJ & The Mood

Socials:
http://instagram.com/jjandthemood/
https://www.instagram.com/sjogrenjack/
https://www.instagram.com/joesph_sounds/

BIO

JJ & The Mood is a Cincinnati-based disco-pop duo composed of cartoonist and vocalist Jack Sjogren and songwriter & producer Joey Joesph.

Drawing from musical influences spanning Talking Heads, ESG, and Earth, Wind & Fire, the duo’s palette features varying shades of soul, disco, pop, and gospel - cohesively held together by Sjogren’s playful vocal energy and Joesph’s warm and spirited production. Performing their debut show at Los Angeles’ legendary Lodge Room, the duo has been featured in global and national ad campaigns with Apple and Saks OFF 5TH, official playlists including Spotify Fresh Finds, Apple Music Midnight City, and garnered support from Celebmix, METAL, KCRW, and more.

Sjogren and Joesph originally met in Orlando, Florida but it wasn’t until years later, during an autumn 2019 session at The Eyebrow Palace, that they started laying the groundwork for what would become JJ & The Mood.

PRESS & FEATURES

“Brimming with delicious waves of feel-good motion” - Celebmix

“Prepare to put your hands in the air!” - KCRW

“JJ & The Mood create such a joyful atmosphere, infusing funk rhythms and shimmering synths and even jazz elements to create [a] euphoric listening experience” - METAL

"Channeling the diverse post-punk sound of LCD Soundsystem, 'How Many Times' sees them return with a wonderfully insatiable groove. Filled with smooth rhythms, killer hooks, and an enticing sound throughout, this new release will have you tapping your toes from start to finish.” —Mystic Sons

“JJ and the Mood, I gotta tell you, just listening to him and his energy, that’s gotta be something to witness live.” — Anthony Valadez, KCRW (Morning Becomes Eclectic)

“You know that feeling you get after finding out some good news; or when you find $20 in an old jacket you haven’t worn in a while? That moment when you are like “yes,” and the universe just seems to be on your side. That’s the feeling you get when you listen to the new single from indie-pop disco cowboys, JJ & The Mood.” —The New LoFi