Alright, heads down. Jared Fullerman ain’t messing around with filler. This guy just dropped “Smoke (I Blame)“—the third and final single before his album Ins crashed the party on May 1. And let me tell you, this track is the kind of slow-creep beast that doesn’t let go until your ears are ringing.
Fullerman—yeah, the same dude who gave us that killer 2023 debut Albatross—is back with something heavier. Not heavy in a dumb way. Heavy in a I’ve got something to prove way.
“Smoke (I Blame)” starts off key-forward and wide open. Dreamy. Hovering. Like you’re floating in a haze right before someone flicks the switch. That opening passage is spacious as hell. You can hear every breath, every note hanging in the air. But here’s the thing—this song doesn’t stay pretty. Nah. It builds. Weight stacks on weight. Intensity climbs like a drummer counting in a storm. And then… BAM. That closing surge of heavy distortion hits you square in the chest.
But here’s what separates Fullerman from the pack: that explosion doesn’t feel like a cheap jumpscare. It feels earned. The whole dynamic arc makes sense. You go on the ride, you feel the tension, and when it finally snaps, it lands like resolution, not a trick. That’s called knowing your damn craft.
Now, roll this back to the singles rollout. “Super Senior (Smooth Stones)” had that jangle-pop swagger and some funny lines about procrastination. Cool. “Between Bricks” got all introspective with guitar ballad vibes, tipping its cap to Grizzly Bear and Feels-era Animal Collective. Also cool. But “Smoke (I Blame)”? This one holds both those moods in a chokehold—the charm and the inward gaze—then lets ’em go in one big, decisive push. That’s how you close a singles campaign.
So yeah. Play “Smoke (I Blame).” Let it breathe. Let it choke you. Then let it blast your speakers on the way out. That’s rock and roll that actually goes somewhere.
Jared Fullerman Socials: YouTube