Originally from Bendigo, jakson grew up playing guitar and writing songs, before moving to Melbourne after high school to study music. Also a member of local indie-rock group Dez, the release of 'guilt' today sees him stepping out on his own for the first time. However, unlike Dez’s more laidback and playful sounds, jakson’s solo material finds him embracing a far darker side, with a strong focus on melancholic soundscapes and harrowing lyricism.

Opening gently with some eerie fingerpicked guitar, the track takes shape around jakson’s lyrics, as he begins to weave an unsettling tale “loosely based on a Raymond Carver short story” with his stilted voice. While the storyline is more mundane than haunting to begin with, his sinister half-spoken vocals lace the track with ominous undertones. Slowly, the track expands into a restrained groove as the narrative grows darker, and with the inclusion of some lighter guitar gleams and immersive harmonies, the track feels even more unnatural amongst the heavy themes. After five and a half minutes, 'guilt' finally hits its peak, and jakson’s voice is surrounded by a swirl of sprawling guitars, driving drums and translucent female vocals, before everything strips back and jakson delivers a final “just an ordinary day” - his voice now completely unnerving, as it possesses the same mundane emotionlessness as it did at the beginning, despite the trauma we have now experienced.