The Penguin Rocks logo
The Penguin Rocks Menu


Makin Waves Record of the Week: "In Context" by 4:44


By Bob Makin

originally published: 07/30/2020

Makin Waves Record of the Week: "In Context" by 4:44

South Jersey singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist 4:44 wrote what he had planned to be his debut album while still in high school around 2012, but he didn’t finish recording it until recently. In the meantime, he has self-produced a stylistically eclectic catalog of seven albums, each focused on a different genre. With the new eighth outing, “In Context,” he explores acoustic pop, playing all the instruments and producing all the tracks, as he has with his subsequent recordings. 

The coming-of-age tale of lost innocence opens with the standout “Light Rose,” which 4:44 describes as the first keeper he ever wrote. The alternatingly heartbreaking and uplifting tune chronicles a visit with his mother to see his Aunt Rosie in a rehabilitation center right before her death. The song was inspired by a light shining through a window as they consoled each other. Alongside a mellow but sensual groove reminiscent of John Mayer, 4:44 poignantly sings, “My heart cant speak now. It’s plotting against goodbye, extending incompletes, yet managing to beat when the tears are stuck inside. And I hope you know we got your light rose.” 

Throughout the 10-song “In Context,” other 4:44 influences U2 and Bruce Springsteen sneak into the production and songwriting, which also most impresses with the closing “Living Hope.” The soul-pop nugget demonstrates a wisdom far beyond a teenager’s years as he requests God to come to earth once again to clean up the many messes of our world. 

4:44 also musically has mined dream pop (2019’s “Dream-Wake”), indie rock (2018’s “Creatures” and 2017’s “Parallelement”), electronic prog-rock (2018’s “Reckoning”), alternative rock (2017’s “Cardinal” and 2016’s “Greenwave”) and acoustic Americana (2015’s “Child of God”). I look forward to his next sonic venture, tentatively entitled “Wilderness,” a new shoegaze affair that flirts with metal and industrial, which he will produce alongside another shelved project, “Higher Learning.” The talented artist also makes his own videos, which he did particularly well for “Living Hope.” 

 



 
Advertise with The Penguin Rocks for $50-$100 per month, click here for info



Makin Waves Record of the Week: "In Context" by 4:44

 

Bob Makin is a reporter for MyCentralJersey.com and the former managing editor of The Aquarian Weekly, which launched this column in 1988. Contact him via email and like Makin Waves on Facebook.



New Jersey Stage is proud to be the home of Bob Makin's Makin Waves column since 2017. His Song of the Week column comes out every Friday. He also writes an Album of the Month and Interview of the Month as well.

 

COLUMNS


Makin Waves Song of the Week: "Golden Cage" by Cranston Dean

The Makin Waves Song of the Week is "Golden Cage," the latest single from Cranston Dean.




Rock On! This Week's Sound Bites...7/3/25




This Week in Music: Previews for Concerts from July 1-7, 2025




BlowUpRadio.com's New & Notable NJ Music 6/30/25





 
Advertise with The Penguin Rocks for $50-$100 per month, click here for info




 

MORE NEWS

New Jersey's high priests of swamp rock, Reese Van Riper, return with The American Dream, a five-song fever dream that drags the myth of Americana through a backwoods dive bar and leaves it bleeding on the floor. The new EP is a tongue-in-cheek, gut-punching journey through Middle America's darkest corners — equal parts patriotic nightmare and protest hymn. Appropriately, the EP was released on July 4th.


"Every Note She Sings is Perfection!" Linda Eder LIVE! at Axelrod PAC




The Newton Theatre presents Tonight's the Night - a tribute to Rod Stewart




Hoboken's Sinatra Park to Host Concert by Freedy Johnson and Karyn Kuhl and the Gang




An Interview with Dan Kurtz of The New Deal






 

UPCOMING SHOWS


Sounds of a Summer Night: Music, Nature, and Community in Concert at Reeves-Reed Arboretum

(SUMMIT, NJ) -- Bring your blankets, lawn chairs, and picnic baskets to Reeves-Reed Arboretum and celebrate summer with their 2025 concert series, Sounds of a Summer Night! All performances will be held on select Wednesday evenings on the grounds of this non-profit public garden located in Summit.


2025 Horizon Sounds of the City at NJPAC




South Orange Summer Nights to Offer Free Concerts Every Wednesday Night In July




Middlesex County's Free Concert Series Returns for 2025






Advertise with The Penguin Rocks for $50-$100 per month, click here for info


The Penguin Rocks

© 2025 by Wine Time Media, LLC
PO Box 811, Belmar, NJ 07719
info@newjerseystage.com

Presented by New Jersey Stage

Images used on this site have been sent to us from publicists, artists, and PR firms. If there is a problem with the rights to any image, please contact us and we will look into the matter.

Follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and our NJ Stage accounts on Instagram, and Threads


News | Features | Radio Shows | Penguin's Hall of Fame | Song of the Week | BlowUpRadio column

Contact Us | About Us | Submit Music | Ad Rates