Jake & Shelby announce debut album ‘Learning To Love’ and share new single “Shut Up and Kiss Me”

“Shut Up and Kiss Me” Single Cover Art / Photo Credit: London Gittisarn

Dynamic indie-pop duo Jake & Shelby are continue to bare their souls and share their hearts this year.

On Friday, July 25, the duo announced their upcoming debut studio album, Learning To Love, alongside their thrilling new single, “Shut Up and Kiss Me.”

This comes after the duo sat down with Melodic Magazine in June to discuss their singles, “You Don’t Know” and “Loophole.”

The album, Learning To Love, is slated for release on Oct. 10, via EMPIRE.

Presave Learning To Love here.

Sonically, Jake & Shelby said they wanted to embrace joy and excitement on “Shut Up and Kiss Me,” a vibrant indie-pop track, with a playful melody that enthralls you. Inspired by Role Model’s latest album, Kansas Anymore, the two said they blended all kinds of giddy emotions — a song that is both cute and hopeful, a theme that translates throughout their latest string of singles.

On it, they sing, “You watch my mouth / Whenever we’re talking / Figure out I want you to stop it / Moment’s nice but there’s only one thing missing,” as Jake & Shelby describe this dreamlike romance that makes them both melt into one another seamlessly. That is, before they sing the title, “Shut up and kiss me,” in this playful, romantic way that showcases what it’s like to fall in love.

“Writing ‘Shut Up and Kiss Me’ was a truly seamless process,” Jake & Shelby said. “We were in the studio with two of our favorite people to work with, Josh Ronen and Tony Ferrari. It all started with the main guitar riff. The music felt like something cute and hopeful, and we wanted to match that lyrically. We started writing about the excitement of the beginning stages of a relationship, where you’re still a little shy, but you’re totally falling for each other. You just haven’t quite made a move yet. Once we landed on the hook of shut up and kiss me, the chorus and verses just fell into place after that. It was like we were just finishing a puzzle. It’s always really exciting when it all comes together like it did for this song.”

With the new sound that sees them embrace soaring melodies and upbeat tempos, Jake & Shelby worked closely with producers like Josh Ronen (Kelly Clarkson, Erin Kinsey) and Micah Tawlks (COIN, The Brook & the Bluff), showcasing Jake’s stunning guitar and Shelby’s haunting piano and jazz-inspired vocals that soar above melodies.

Learning To Love Album Cover Art / Photo Credit: Nolan Knight

According to a release, Jake & Shelby’s latest string of singles sees them gear up to release their debut studio album, Learning To Love, which explores love in all of its forms — falling in love and falling out of it, as well as chasing, questioning and surrendering to it. It’s described as “the perfect soundtrack for anyone who has ever found themselves tangled in love, whether they were running toward it, running from it, or somewhere in between,” per a release.

Jake & Shelby elaborated more on the album, sharing its inspiration and what fans can expect this fall.

“While a lot of this album is about learning to love someone else, a bigger part of it is about learning to love yourself. It’s about learning to love yourself enough to leave what isn’t good for you. Learning to choose someone who will truly care for you. Learning to love yourself enough to work through trauma from your past. To fully love someone else, the first step is learning to love yourself, and that’s what this album means to us. We hope this album can meet people wherever they are. Whether they’re in a relationship or not, we want them to feel seen.”

Learning To Love Tracklist: