One Last Job is a folk-rock project based out of Austin, TX. Combining intimate lyricism and a blend of instrumentation from soft acoustics to whirling synths, their most recent album, Been Here Ever Since, was recorded entirely by frontman Travis Klein from a laptop while travelling between Austin, TX, and Las Vegas, NV.

The album’s focus track ‘Beneath the Ocean’ is a genre-blend of indie-folk, lo-fi, and bedroom pop. It was entirely recorded in frontman Travis Klein’s living room on a 2012 Macbook running Ableton 11, then polished from various hotels and Airbnbs while travelling around the US. there is a pensive and slow-burn vibe present with the interface recording for guitar, bass, and vocals, then MIDI for drums and keys. It was mixed and mastered by Michael Briggs in Denton, TX. “It's a song about gratitude. About being dizzied by what it means to be truly grateful but attempting to accept the proposition anyway. It's my favorite song on the album.”

Been Here Ever Since, is an intriguing musical journey from One Last Job. There is a renowned sound that weaves influences from the likes of Bright Eyes, Phoebe Bridgers, Car Seat Headrest, and Nana Grizol. They invite listeners into the multifaceted nuances throughout the twelve tracks.

Created solely by the frontman Travis Klein, the twelve tracks explore the concept of gratitude and his analysis of the scariness of acceptance, it’s a record filled with heart, sweat, and tears. Been Here Ever Since, showcases the musician’s superb range and versatility with an infectious atmosphere.

Each track is lyrically driven, with cohesive storytelling, with the overall theme throughout the album being about gratitude. It begins with a story that takes place toward the middle of college, where Travis is confronted with the idea that a lot of people don’t end up actively charting the courses of their lives - they fall into one decision after another until their whole lives go by. This project was a terrifying realization as it called the whole idea of free will into question. Throughout the collection of tunes, Travis analyzes what’s scary about acceptance, and eventually arrives at a new perspective.

Been Here Ever Since, showcases One Last Jobs' artistic contrast, and energy, and is full of melodies that will capture the listener's attention from the very first track. They strut an impassioned indie-rock sound creating a narrative of emotional and energetic exhaustion of the musician ending the musical journey with mastery. There are profound existential themes discussed throughout the twelve tracks combined with mesmerising soundscapes, raw vocals, and unadulterated honest lyrics.

Travis was travelling during the time of creating Been Here Ever Since, flying back and forth from his home in Austin, TX to Las Vegas NV. The album was almost exclusively recorded on jet-lagged Saturdays in his living room and tweaked on his laptop from different hotels and Airbnb’s.

BEHIND THE TRACKS

Been Here Ever Since, Pt. One | Establishes central conflict: in the West axiomatically some assume that they are individuals with autonomy, but when you zoom out and look at people's choices in the aggregate, the patterns seem awfully predictable. Travis questions, “Do I actually have free will?”

25 to Life | This song is written in two parts: first when Travis was 19 and second when he was recording the album at 27. Starts by reinforcing this feeling of "going through the motions" and the conflict between the desire to be distinct and the fear of being alone; then in the second part revisits and updates with chagrin how unmoved that original conflict has stayed over the intervening eight years.

Safe Mode | A song about undermining yourself and the tension between conscious and subconscious motives. Does the need conscious desire to be convinced of his individuality/agency mean having to subconsciously isolate himself? He doesn’t consciously want the latter, but in reality, is that what he’s doing?

Another Night | About the paralysis of (1) not wanting to move forward until he has a coherent worldview and vision for the future; and (2) being unable to formulate one, all while (3) time slips by unchangingly in the background.

Zarathustra | Based on Nietzsche's classic, the climax of the tension is to individuate. The attempt to be original might indeed mean total isolation, and there's no guarantee you'll even find anything. Is that really what he wants? What is he looking for? Exhaustion.

Where, Still | Total disorientation. Ground to a halt. A play on Heisenberg's uncertainty principle that since the only thing he knows is that he’s going nowhere (velocity = 0 with certainty of 100%), he also has no idea where he is. Completely lost in abstraction, and reality is receding. Emotional low-point.

Memento Mori | But wait. Has all of this "path to individuate" stuff just been an attempt to escape death (ref: Becker, The Denial of Death)? If so, is he just torturing himself for no good reason? Will he be able to accept that it's better not to pretend you're special and that you'll die like everyone else? Stoicism.

Fossil | But there's been such a sunk cost already trying to follow this thread. Doesn’t he owe something to his past self to finish what they started, even if it was in error? No: everything that's happened still exists now, and nothing's lost. You can move on whenever you want.

Beneath the Ocean | An emotional climax of the album where finally, we face gratitude directly. Maybe living in gratitude means relinquishing my control over events and even the clear boundary of his "self", but perhaps that's the answer. Maybe that's a leap of faith he’s willing to take.

Coffee Table | Travis was looking in the wrong place for a sense of meaning in life. Trying to chase immortality through originality is misguided because memories will fade, but what's amazing is that you exist at all. That life and consciousness exist, and that you're part of it. You'll change forms, but nothing is destroyed. Stop chasing and just start noticing.

Out of Place | Final form of gratitude. There is no ghost in the machine, the future already exists, and all boundaries are illusory, but that also means that nothing is out of place. Life and existence are fundamentally good.

Been Here Ever Since, Pt. Two | Revisiting the central conflict from a new perspective. Maybe everything does happen for a reason, and wherever you are, the path to fulfillment is to be continually glad that you are and have been.

On the album, One Last Job comments, “This album is a dialogue between gratitude and ambition. I start from a sort of standard "Western" worldview where individuality and ambition are of primary value, and then throughout the album, we go on a journey following that worldview to its logical extent before arriving at a new perspective grounded in gratitude and giving up some of that need for control. I hope it makes you smile.”

One Last Job is paving their way into the music scene with their promising sound on ‘Been Here Ever Since’. For more updates on them, please visit their social media and streaming platforms.