Jackson MacIntosh’s “Lulu” is a bittersweet, psychedelic love song

Montreal-based musician Jackson MacIntosh is coalescing his wide-ranging sonic skills onto "Lulu," the first single from his upcoming debut solo album My Dark Side. As the engineer and recorder on the last two Homeshake albums, MacIntosh knows how to craft an intimate atmosphere. And there's no doubt that fronting Sheer Agony taught him a lot about crafting slanted post-pop.

"Lulu" is a vintage psychedelia aligned with Todd Rundgren and The Zombies, where details curl like smoke. While undeniably a love song, "Lulu" floats seamlessly between a melancholy first verse and a hopeful second. Is it the beginning, or the end? Whether one, both or neither, MacIntosh has extracted some self-knowledge: "Everybody's got a weakness, and I think that I've found mine," he sings as the song plays out.

Over email, MacIntosh described the song's genesis. "'Lulu' was the first song I'd written after a dry spell that lasted about a year, which is pretty unusual for me, because I usually can't stop myself from writing. It was sort of an unusual song for me, and was a song that led me to make a solo record. It's about being excited about meeting someone new, being afraid to call them, floating around hotel rooms and festivals."