For the past few years, the Chicago poet and musician Kara Jackson has popped up as a collaborator on albums from the likes of Sen Morimoto and Lala Lala. After being named the National Youth Poet Laureate in 2019, she released her first collection of original music, the A Song For Every Chamber Of The Heart EP. In the last couple months, Jackson has shared some singles — “No Fun/Party,” “Dickhead Blues,” and “Brain” — from her debut album, which is being officially announced today alongside another new song, “Pawnshop.”

Why Does The Earth Give Us People To Love? is out in April, and it features production contributions from Nnamdi, Kaina, and Sen Morimoto, who are all part of the same Chicago scene. Jackson cites Nina Simone, Fiona Apple, and Joanna Newsom as influences, and you can hear all of them to varying degrees on “Pawnshop” — I also hear a bit of Regina Spektor in the way Jackson constructs a scene. Check out a video for the song below.

TRACKLIST:
01 “Recognized”
02 “No Fun/Party”
03 “Dickhead Blues”
04 “Therapy”
05 “Pawnshop”
06 “Brain”
07 “Free”
08 “Lily”
09 “Rat”
10 “Why Does The Earth Give Us People To Love?”
11 “Curtains”
12 “Recognize Reprise”
13 “Liquor”

Why Does The Earth Give Us People To Love? is out 4/14 via September. Pre-order it here.