Jaws of Love. Oscillates Through the Heavy Stuff on Woozy, Distorted New Single “5 Years”

The track from Local Natives’ Kelcey Ayer precedes his sophomore album, Second Life.

Jaws of Love. Oscillates Through the Heavy Stuff on Woozy, Distorted New Single “5 Years”

The track from Local Natives’ Kelcey Ayer precedes his sophomore album, Second Life.

Words: Matt Mitchell

Photo: Nik Ewing

September 16, 2022

Local Natives keyboardist and vocalist Kelcey Ayer returns with his solo project Jaws of Love. with more thoughtful tunes about the highs and lows of marriage. Earlier this year, Ayer released the EP Patricia, along with the single “m&m” in 2020. Today, he arrives with the inaugural single from his first solo album in five years (after 2017’s Tasha Sits Close to the Piano)—appropriately titled “5 Years”—and an accompanying music video directed by him and his wife Mel and shot entirely on an iPhone. 

"I wrote the song loosely based on a close relationship that ended years ago. In the song, I fictitiously build up the courage to call and see if it can be repaired, not knowing if the other person will pick up,” Ayer explained to FLOOD. “This is off my new record Second Life, which I'm beyond proud of and excited to get out into the world, largely because, with my co-producer Danny Reisch (Sun June, Shearwater, Other Lives), we were really able to step up JOL's production-game, which I feel ‘5 Years’ is a prime example of. I co-directed the video with my wife, which saw us in about 10 locations on around 20 different escalators. It was Labor Day in Los Angeles with a high of 105 degrees, so we almost passed out from heat exhaustion doing it. My wife is the MVP for doing that. I kind of can't believe she did that."

Watch the video for “5 Years” below.