jxdn (aka Jaden Hossler) wasn’t old enough to witness pop punk bleed into the mainstream throughout the 2000s, but the musician evokes the same heart-on-sleeve lyricism that defined that era — and made it unforgettable for so many. That approach has led to a series of staggering achievements — reaching gold status, garnering countless streams, and collaborating with his heroes, to name a few — but at the end of the day, jxdn has always used music as an escape. Now, he’s ready to make a deeper mark with his second album, WHEN THE MUSIC STOPS, which arrives this Friday (June 28) on Travis Barker’s DTA Records. From having his eyes opened by the Strokes’ Is This It to finding solace in the wounded heaviness of Deftones, jxdn falls back on all of the music that shaped him while inspiring those around him to “keep holding on to tomorrow.”
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Ahead of its release, jxdn took us through the alternative influences that defined his sophomore album.
Deftones – “Sextape”
Listening to this song was one of my only moments of release during a dark time in my life.
The Strokes – “Is This It”
This song and album opened my eyes to what seems to be a clear path for me. I’m grateful to the Strokes for their music.
EKKSTACY – “i just want to hide my face”
One of the first songs I heard from EKKSTACY and made me really fall in love with indie rock as a whole. That eventually turned into a common theme throughout the album.
The Verve – “The Drugs Don’t Work”
I was in a session with some lovely people, and they showed me this song. The phrase alone inspired me, but then I was super moved by the whole concept of the song. This helped inspire my track “Drugs.”
KennyHoopla – “smoke break” (feat. Travis Barker)
This song and the entire Survivor’s Guilt mixtape represent a specific time period in my life that I reflect on a lot in this project.
Deftones – “Cherry Waves”
This track inspired a constant theme of an “out-of-body experience” throughout my upcoming project.
blink-182 – “Anthem Part Two”
blink as a whole inspired many tracks on this album. This just happens to be one of my favorites.
The Killers – “Glamorous Indie Rock & Roll”
This is my favorite song on the album Hot Fuss. I love the Killers so much. Something about their music makes my body feel. I wanted to add whatever that was to this album.
Dag Nasty – “Can I Say”
A direct inspiration for my track “It Must Suck To Know You.” Travis showed me this song on a random studio day. I was convinced.
Johnny Cash – “Hurt”
One of the greatest covers of all time. A big inspiration for all my acoustic tracks. There is power in the simple.
