i give my friends flowers — DOGSTAR 1 (Album Review)

Jacob Klein and his friends’ group, i give my friends flowers, explore love, loss, and change in “DOGSTAR 1.”

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TOP 5 SONGS

5. VOICES

I love the production we get on “VOICES.” It starts with an instrumental featuring atmospheric synths, a strong beat, and bright guitars. In general, the instrumental is strong on this one.

There’s a lot of indie folk influence here, which is one of my favorite genres. There’s also something rock-like about the very end that I really appreciate. The vocals are autotuned in a way at the very end that takes it away from a classic indie rock sound to more experimental. i give my friends flowers describes it as an indie rock/shoegaze/dream pop track.

As for the lyrics, the song touches on how Klein’s choices caused the subject of the song to leave, and he regrets them while taking full responsibility. I particularly like the lyric “Promises made up of fool’s gold” to describe a failed relationship.

4. When I See the Moon

“When I See the Moon” begins with a beautiful piano instrumental that immediately moves into lo-fi electronic instruments and creatively produced vocals. The piano does make its grand return in the chorus.

Some of my favorite lyrics from this project are on this track. Klein compares losing and destroying precious and expensive objects (like spilling champagne or crashing his favorite car) to losing this relationship and giving her his heart. This is another example of Klein taking full responsibility for losing the person in question.

3. sara’s not a name for dogs

On the surface, “sara’s not a name for dogs” is a series of seemingly unrelated lines. However, when taken as a whole, it came together for me: the things that remind Klein of someone named Sara, who used to be in his life to the point that he accidentally calls a dog by her name. Klein has been “all night on [his] phone,” wondering where she is.

The song is almost entirely made up of random-seeming things strung together, but the few lines describing his emotional state tie everything back to the central theme. While I interpreted it as losing a person—whether that be a romantic partner, a friend, or a family member—some of the album has to do with Klein’s dog passing away from cancer, so that may be an additional or the central theme. Something I like about this track is that it is very much up for interpretation.

2. Wolf Heart

“Wolf Heart” opens with another piano and whistles put through a vocal processing pedal, while the vocals feel almost conversational. The rhythm is very repetitive, mimicking the way people talk over an equally repetitive melody. Klein states that he knows the future because he’s always running forward, but that doesn’t “kill the magic” of what happens. However, he still misses the past.

Interestingly, he compares himself to Jake Gyllenhaal’s character, Donnie Darko, from the movie of the same name, since Donnie knows the future. This adds an almost selfless quality to showing someone the sunrise at the overlook in the same verse, especially given how Donnie Darko ends. It also ties into the idea of knowing that some things must happen, while recognizing that this doesn’t change how much those things still mean to Klein.

1. BABY FELL IN LOVE WITH A STAR

The production attached to “BABY FELL IN LOVE WITH A STAR” feels almost like a science-fiction score, which fits the track’s title perfectly. The song is about Klein’s lover leaving him while he sits there, still thinking about her. He is especially haunted by the question of what she will think when she looks back on their time together.

This is my favorite track because the production supports the lyrics so thoughtfully. It feels futuristic in a strange way, while the lyrics are nostalgic and constantly looking back. I also love the image of his ex-lover leaving him for better things as her falling in love with a star: something distant, out of reach, and impossible to compete with.

SONG BY SONG RATING

EVERY MOMENT SOMETHING BEAUTIFUL DIES (4/5)

pollen (4/5)

cloud-hidden, chamomile (4/5)

BABY FELL IN LOVE WITH A STAR (4.5/5)

sara’s not a name for dogs (4.5/5)

jambs (page 39) (4/5)

ASHES (4/5)

FANG (my world, a symphony, my heart, a comedy, a tragedy, my love) (4/5)

Wolf Heart (4.5/5)

When I See the Moon (4/5)

VOICES (4/5)

better days (4/5)

RGM RATING

(B)

Jacob Klein may give his friends flowers, but I’d like to give him and his group their flowers for DOGSTAR 1.

i give my friends flowers is a project featuring Jacob Klein and his friends, and their album DOGSTAR 1 is an impressive, hybrid-genre body of work spanning lo-fi folk, alternative hip-hop, dream pop, indie soul, and everything in between. As I listened, I was reminded of artists like Finneas, Big Red Machine, and Bastille. The subject matter centers on losing others—whether it be to a breakup, illness, changing lives, or dissolving friendships—and choosing love despite it all. I think the music and lyrics together displayed that grief combined with hope and gratitude very well.