There is a specific texture to the air in Chicago a kind of electric grit but listening to Joey P. unravel his latest project, “MISSING IN ACTION”, feels surprisingly like peeling the protective film off a brand-new emotional state. Satisfying, smooth, but with a lingering static charge. This two-song release functions like a handwritten note tucked into a coat pocket, discovered months later when you actually need it.
The opening track, “Only One,” abandons the clutter of modern over-production for something bordering on voyeuristic intimacy. It is Contemporary R&B stripped to its bones. With a warm, rhythmic strumming pattern and a beat so subtle it might just be a toe tapping on a hardwood floor, Pacius constructs a shrine to absolute devotion.
Listening to his voice slide from conversational tones into expressive, soulful runs reminds me of watching dust motes suspended in a singular beam of sunlight aimless yet purposeful, fragile yet undeniable. He argues that material wealth is a distraction, and honestly, amidst the improvised, serenade-quality of the recording, you believe him. It evokes the oddly specific comfort of putting on socks straight out of the dryer.
Then the light dims. “Wrong With You” enters with the haze of a Neo-Soul confession delivered at an hour when nothing good usually happens. The atmosphere thickens, becoming dreamy and melancholic. There’s a dry, snapping backbeat here that feels like the rhythmic clicking of a radiator in an empty room steady, indifferent, essential.
Pacius sounds weary, his melody floating over sustained pads as he processes the tension between preserving his own authenticity and craving a connection he knows might be flawed. It is the sound of resignation wrapped in velvet.
Joey P. presents a duality here that is difficult to manufacture: the bright yearning of morning and the heavy introspection of night. Does the day validate the darkness, or does the darkness earn the day?
