Jesse Jo Stark Releases New Album MUSE. New Single and Music Video For “age of being honest” Out Now

Today, multidisciplinary artist and songwriter Jesse Jo Stark releases her new album MUSE, a deeply personal body of work that finds her opening up in ways she hasn’t before. Written during a time of profound personal change, the album finds Stark at her most vulnerable, confronting complicated emotions with honesty and freedom and venturing into a more Americana leaning soundscape.

Alongside the album, Stark shares the official video for “age of being honest,” featuring legendary skateboarder Erik Ellington and directed by Indiana420 and Josephine Meng. The video follows Stark as she grows increasingly more angry as some sort of cathartic release of energy, while a male figure sits there detached from her. As he remains indifferent, she quite literally begins climbing the walls before showcasing her pain, exhaustion, and discomfort. 

The video brings to life much of what makes MUSE so compelling. There’s a willingness to be uncomfortable and to show the parts of heartache that aren’t particularly comfortable. Rather than trying to make sense of everything, Stark lets herself exist in the middle of it.

Written over three snow-covered weeks in Colorado, MUSE came together at a time when Stark needed to get away from the noise of everyday life. With no real expectations about what she would make, she found herself writing more openly than she had in years. The isolation of the mountains gave her room to think, and the songs began to take shape almost instinctively. 

The resulting album feels like a return to some of Stark’s earliest musical instincts, but with a newfound sense of openness. Her love of Americana and bruised rock remains, though the production is more stripped back, and her vocals are often left almost entirely untouched. There’s less distance between Stark and the listener, with the songwriting taking center stage in a way that feels deeply personal and allowing the instruments to take centre as well.

The previously released “colorado” introduced this new chapter, its simple guitar arrangement and intimate vocal setting the tone for the album. Stark has described Colorado as “the womb of the mountains,” a place where she was able to reconnect with herself and find the freedom to write without holding anything back.

“It was the time to speak without boundary,” Stark recalls. “Even though I felt broken, I also felt an immense amount of freedom. Each day felt so precious. Like I was dancing with a woman I had been hiding from. I was clear.”

Throughout MUSE, Stark explores what happens when you stop trying to make your feelings easier for other people to understand. There are moments of real tenderness, but also a lot of anger, and she doesn’t seem particularly interested in apologizing for either.