Following the release of his celebrated 2015 debut Goon, Vancouver-bred piano troubadour Tobias Jesso Jr. traded in the life of indie It Boy to become a behind-the-scenes song doctor, seemingly disappearing into the shadows as swiftly as he stepped into the spotlight. But after accomplishing everything a tunesmith for hire could possibly dream of—including credits for A-list stars like Adele, Dua Lipa, and Justin Bieber; a Grammy win for Songwriter of the Year; and a back-catalog sale to investment firm Hipgnosis—Jesso has blown the dust off the ivories as if the preceding decade never happened. That said, s h i n e is by no means Goon II. Where Jesso’s debut nodded to the Paul McCartney/Elton John golden age of ’70s singer/songwriters, s h i n e is a more off-the-cuff and eccentric affair, where the hissy in-the-room ambiance and squeaky-chair sounds feel like members of his phantom backing band. In many respects, the album feels like Jesso’s solo-piano companion piece to two major albums he worked on in 2025: Justin Bieber’s SWAG and Dijon’s Baby. Like those records, s h i n e is an unfiltered, intimate meditation on life, love, and family, vacillating between expressions of paralyzing self-doubt (“Bridges”) and awestruck gratitude (“Green Eyes”). For all its unvarnished qualities, there are hints of a pro songwriter at work: With its pulse-pounding tempo, you could easily imagine Jesso embellishing “Black Magic” into a dance-pop bop for one of his chart-topping clients. But s h i n e is ultimately the work of a singular artist whose unlikely career trajectory and surprise return are reflected in his unconventional production choices: Just as the tender ballad “I Love You” lulls you into a blissfully slumberous state, the song is bombarded by an onslaught of percussive shocks that will have you checking to see if your media player is glitching out.