Absolutely

The Artist

Dijon Duenas is a Baltimore-born, Los Angeles-based singer-songwriter who first surfaced in the mid-2010s as one half of the duo Abhi//Dijon before stepping out on his own. His solo work fuses raw folk, warped R&B, and lo-fi bedroom soul into something that feels like it's constantly on the verge of falling apart. He's known for capturing live-in-the-room performances where you can hear the friction of hands on strings, voices cracking, and musicians reacting in real time. Absolutely, released in 2021, was his official debut LP and cemented his reputation as a cult favorite among artists like Bon Iver and Justin Bieber, who have both cited him as an influence.

The Album

Absolutely was largely captured in intense, live-band sessions in a Los Angeles home studio, with Dijon co-producing alongside frequent collaborator Henry Kwapis and a rotating cast of musicians. The recordings prioritize spontaneity over polish: takes were often kept whole, with visible band chemistry, breathing, shouting, and mistakes left in the mix. Released in November 2021, it landed with almost no traditional rollout, letting word-of-mouth and its accompanying live videos do the promotional work. Thematically, the album wrestles with devotion, jealousy, spiritual longing, and the messy weight of loving another person imperfectly.

Listen For

Room noise and band chatter. Across the record, listen for chairs creaking, off-mic yells, and musicians cueing each other. The album treats these "imperfections" as texture, not something to scrub away.

Vocal strain as instrument. On "Many Times" and "Rodeo Clown," Dijon pushes his voice past comfort into hoarse, cracking territory. The point isn't pretty singing, it's the sound of someone actually breaking.

Folk meets warped R&B. Notice how acoustic guitars, hand percussion, and gospel-tinged piano collide with pitched-up samples and blown-out drums. "Big Mikes" sets that collision as the album's opening thesis.

Recurring spiritual imagery. Track how religious language weaves through songs like "God In Wilson" and "Noahs Highlight Reel," blurring lines between romantic devotion and prayer.

The final stretch as comedown. Pay attention to how "End of Record" and "Credits!" function as an outro pair, deliberately releasing pressure the album has been building.