Jo Passed - Away
Self-released
Released on January 23rd, 2026
Jo Passed is Jo Hirabayashi, who has been writing mathy, thoughtful pop music for over 15 years, first with SSRIs, then Spring and now as Jo Passed. Following his musical journey is like watching a loved one grow up from afar. Snapshots of moments, evolution that is often gradual and barely noticeable and in other ways abrupt and shocking.
Away is Hirabayashi’s first album in 8 years. It’s very cool. For me, this is a guitar record. The guitars sour and scream, hum and float, rip, tear, sew and repair. The tear you apart and heal you back up. The vocals are steadier. They are sweet, kind and re-assuring. As always, the music is lush and layered, perfectly arranged and gentle. This time, it is slightly more tense and chaotic. It’s still stunning and relaxing, mostly. It’s a lazy river, but as it is carrying your body, you will realize that maybe you missed a spot with your sunscreen, or you will think about whether you turned off your toaster oven at home. Maybe you’ve floated to long and your throat is getting dry. These feelings all slide away, and leave you floating gently and peacefully. Tense blips in otherwise tranquil perfection. Like looking at a sunset and then reality quickly blips, maybe. You can barely notice. Away jolts you with sometimes jarring lyrics, jagged guitar parts, uncomfortable time signatures, dissonance and sharp drums, but they are all prickly tiny parts of big, beautiful soundscapes. The production is so crisp and clear that you barely even consider it, without losing the human element.
The human element is what really makes Jo Passed special. Alongside the virtuosic playing and pop sensibilities, the songs drip with vulnerability. Away is a window into Hirabayashi’s big, beautiful brain He takes us on a guided tour of the museum of his emotions. He takes us down the corridor of his heart, his guts, his nervous system. We can touch the walls and feel like we are part of it. At times, it seems overwhelming and you want to pull away. His calmness becomes ours. His anxieties become ours.
Away is an incredible record. Each song stands on its own and seems like it could be a hit. As a whole, the album is even better, like Voltron or pizza. I feel like there will be a day where Joseph Hirabayashi’s name will be spoken in grand conversations of mythical songwriters and we will talk about Away as one of the great Canadian albums.
