Liverpool singer-songwriter John Witherspoon drops his highly anticipated third album, One of Them, out now.
Exploring disconnection in a hyperconnected world, the album offers melancholic, meaningful songwriting over varied soundscapes, from warming organic Americana to alt-pop and splashes of lo-fi electronics. Meeting the high standards set by his debut LP Showin’ Up, Startin’ Again and follow-up Heart In, Head Out, Witherspoon’s latest work is both lyrically profound and thematically relevant, a poignant reflection on modern culture’s tangled relationship with technology and communication.
In One of Them, Witherspoon turns a sharp eye toward the drawbacks of the digital age, exploring how constant connectivity can erode genuine connection. Drawing from personal experiences with phone addiction and its effects on relationships, he paints vivid portraits of disconnection across the album’s eleven tracks – stories that span media, money, love, and loneliness. Each song is crafted with cinematic precision, bringing to life the characters and scenarios that inhabit his world.
“Most of my writing is autobiographical, and I think One of Them offers a pretty even split of my light and dark sides, my positive and negative outlooks, my faith in humanity and my deeply cynical view of it,” says Witherspoon. “I recently told an audience that this album is about disconnection in a seemingly connected world.”
Showcasing his signature blend of introspective storytelling and indie-rock sensibilities, the album’s focus track All My Venom delves into a relationship fraught with uncertainty and emotional volatility. With the haunting refrain, “I love you, but I could give you all my venom,” Witherspoon examines the thin line between love and hate. The track’s raw, live-recorded energy captures both tenderness and turmoil, balancing soaring highs with subdued, melancholic breaks.
“I can divide the making of this album into two contrasting chapters — the writing and the recording — though their timelines overlap,” Witherspoon reflects. “The recording was a magical team effort full of laughs and fun, while the writing was all about solitude.”
Those phases spanned from August 2023 to December 2024, beginning with quiet, introspective mornings spent at the piano or guitar. Working in isolation, Witherspoon built skeletal demos in GarageBand before teaming up with producer and drummer Dave Ormsby at Ormsby’s Wirral studio. There, alongside bassist Jesse Eigen and a rotating lineup of session musicians, the songs took on new life. Many tracks began with bass and drums recorded together, later layered with guitars and vocals. On standouts like My Baby and All My Venom, the band embraced a mostly live setup, capturing the spontaneous energy of performance.
“I’ve been trying to record songs with people for over twenty years, and with One of Them I finally understood that the more a songwriter can let good musicians express themselves — with minimal interference — the better your track will be,” says Witherspoon.
The album was mixed at Sloe Flower Studios and mastered at Abbey Road, adding polish to its organic, emotionally rich sound.
Witherspoon’s influences run deep — from songwriting titans like Bob Dylan, Leonard Cohen, and Paul Simon, to British icons The Beatles, Blur, Oasis, and The Smiths, and modern indie staples Radiohead, The Strokes, and early Coldplay. A proud Liverpudlian, he continues to channel the city’s storied musical heritage into his craft, earning a devoted UK following through regular performances at venues like The Cavern and The Jacaranda.
Despite the album’s meditations on isolation and technological burnout, optimism still shines through. “Human beings are mostly trying their best but making lots of mistakes – I am no different,” Witherspoon reflects. “We love and we are loved, and somehow that always makes it worth the fight.”
Listen below:
