A Shadow of My Future Self

A Shadow of My Future Self is the debut studio album by British singer-songwriter Ross Jennings. It was released on 19 November 2021 through Graphite Records. Unlike his more well-known Progressive music, Jennings' solo record follows a much more mainstream approach with Jennings directly citing Styx, Coldplay, Journey and Porcupine Tree as references.

The album was initially teased on 3 October 2020 through Jennings' social media and was later announced by name on 25 June 2021 along with the release of the album's first single "Words We Can't Unsay."

Subsequent singles "Grounded," "Violet," "Feelings," and "Catcher in the Rye" were released monthly with music videos until the albums release. "Rocket Science" later received a music video upon the album's release and "Be The One" received a music video upon the release of the vinyl edition of the album.

On 31 December 2021, Jennings announced on Instagram page that a follow-up album was in the works.

On 19 November 2022, a year after the album's release, the instrumental mixes were released separately on streaming platforms.

Basis

The album's name is a play on the phrase "a shadow of my former self," but spins the phrase in a positive light, with the idea that the person you are now has room to improve and grow as a person.

The album follows themes of relationships, loss and growing old. The album's two main singles, "Words We Can't Unsay" and "Feelings," both tackle the topic of relationships.

Production

The album began production near the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, with the pandemic giving Ross the chance to put together his own album while unable to perform and write music with Haken.

The album's material dates to as far back as at least 2010. The first song on the album to be written for the album was "Third Degree." Originally titled "The Person You Are," it was initially written around the same time as "She Loves You More". The first song written directly for the album was "Feelings," with the song being used as a benchmark for the album's recording techniques. The lyrics for "Words We Can't Unsay" were heavily based upon his marriage issues at the time. This association bleeds directly into some of the lyrics as Ross stated that many lines were taken directly from his marital arguments.

The lyrics and vocal melody for chorus for the song "Young at Heart" were initially planned to be used on the song "Prosthetic" from Haken's 2020 album Virus but ultimately went unused by the band.

The music video for "Feelings" was based upon iconic video games and features Ross Jennings as the protagonist of an arcade game with various levels loosely based upon Super Mario Odyssey, The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, Metal Gear Solid and Guitar Hero. An actual game was created by Crystal Spotlight in Unreal Engine 4 and Ross announced that a full game may be released if interest is shown.

The final song on the album, Jennings' cover of Be the One by Dua Lipa, was done as a bit of fun on Jennings' part, stating "You wouldn't expect a prog metal artist to perform a "half-decent cover of a Dua Lipa song."

Tracklist

Pos.	Song Title	Length
	Total Length:	78:29
1.	"Better Times"	4:08
2.	"Words We Can't Unsay"	5:04
3.	"Violet"	5:29
4.	"The Apologist"	4:55
5.	"Rocket Science"	4:15
6.	"Catcher in the Rye"	5:18
7.	"Since That Day"	3:25
8.	"Young at Heart"	8:13
9.	"Feelings"	4:56
10.	"Third Degree"	4:34
11.	"Phoenix"	11:50
12.	"Grounded"	8:02
13.	"Year"	4:55
14.	"Be the One" (Bonus Track)	3:25

Personnel

Musicians

Ross Jennings - vocals, guitar
Nathan Navarro - bass, additional vocals on "Phoenix"
Simen Sandnes - drums, additional vocals on "Phoenix"
Vikram Shankar - piano, keyboards, additional vocals on "Phoenix", orchestral arrangement
Kristian Frostad - lap steel guitar
Jørgen Lund Karlsen - saxophone, brass arrangements on "Word We Can't Unsay"
Sigurd Evensen - trombone
Stig Espen Hundsnes - trumpet

Yulia Jennings - additional vocals on "Phoenix"
Dylan Laine - additional vocals on "Phoenix"
Amanda Wilson - additional vocals on "Phoenix"
Paul Winstanley - additional vocals on "Phoenix"
Karim Sinno - additional vocals on "Phoenix"
Clea Daher - additional vocals on "Phoenix"
Fredrik Bergersen Klemp - additional vocals on "Phoenix"

Production and Design

Ross Jennings - production
Karim Sinno - mixing, additional editing and engineering
Ermin Hamidovic - mastering
Paul Wintanley - vocals and additional guitar recording and engineering
Blacklake - art and design

Quotes

"Despite my history, I rarely regard myself as a metal singer, so I was in desperate need to scratch a long time itch and make a record that appeals to the broader spectrum of my musical palette. With 'A Shadow of My Future Self', I unashamedly wear my influences on my sleeve but this is the kind of music I always imagined I'd be making before I took the path less travelled into prog metal... Needless to say, this is somewhat more accessible and radio friendly stuff!"

-Ross Jennings

Trivia

The album's cover was taken from a series of promotional shots taken by Jennings' wife. The photo in particular stood out to Jennings and according to him, it greatly represented his feelings with himself and the album at the time.
The cover's colour choice is a reference to the song "Violet." Jennings has also teased the idea of the colour scheme being related to "non-stop purple force," a misheard line in the song "Falling Back to Earth" from Haken's 2013 album, The Mountain.