I featured Jake Lawson and Shelby Haim in January of 2024 when they put out their Just Us EP.  At that time, they were both teenagers who met while attending Cedarstone Music School in Hendersonville.

Fast forward twenty months, and the pair have released their debut album, Learning to Love. And while that doesn’t seem like any time for us older folks, the growth the duo has made in that is evident in their new music. No longer teenagers in high school, the duo is navigating life and love just like many their age. The only difference is they have narrated their journey with a soundtrack that tells the story of love in all its forms—falling in, falling out, chasing, questioning, and surrendering to it.

Now with nearly 900,000 followers on Instagram, Jake and Shelby have a newfound confidence that is evident in their debut record as they share the ups and downs of an emerging duo trying to find their place in the music world and in life. Although the pair have been touring since 2022 and have been friends and writing songs for many years, they are still trying to figure out life like most 20-something-year-olds

In addition to their vulnerable lyrics, the thing I appreciate most about Jake and Shelby is that they don’t sound like anyone else. Their indie/pop tunes don’t remind me of anyone. That is rare and keeps their fans coming back for more.

Learning to Love has a bit more production than their Just Us EP, and it showcases Jake’s expressive guitar work. However, with Shelby’s jazz-tinged vocals, the emotion of their songs will always take center stage. It begins with “Loophole,” a song about a relationship you’re maybe looking to get out of, but you can’t help it—you keep going back.

One of the most interesting songs on the album is “mhm,” which features Jake’s intricate guitar work and Shelby’s unique vocals.

“You Don’t Know” is one of the more relatable songs on the record, as you wonder what is going on with the relationship. At the same time, you sleep by the phone, “waiting for your ringtone.”

Jake’s favorite song is “A Little at a Time.” With the lyrics It takes patience/ We could write this rhyme/ And fall in love a little at a time, they remind us not to rush a relationship.

The most fun song on the record is “Shut Up and Kiss Me.” The video for the upbeat song was filmed at a real carnival, and the pair look like they genuinely are having a blast.

Even though they appear so comfortable with each other, we must remember their youth. But going through the usual young-adult stuff while also being in the spotlight brings extra challenges. The song “Fragile” addresses the anxiety they are feeling about life and their relationship. The song questions, “Did you do this to me, or did I do this to myself?”

They admit they are better together in the upbeat pop/rock ditty, “Stuck On Your Love,” while they confess they want to be together forever in the song, “You.”

But in true young love fashion, the song “Our Hands” navigates the turbulence of a relationship that teeters between passion and exhaustion.

“Run, Run, Run” is Shelby’s favorite song. The song is not about running away from each other but about running towards each other in the setting sun, amid their complicated circumstances. “We’re going to fly away from here, we’ll disappear, disappear,” the song states.

By the last two songs, it appears the relationship is over. “Anymore” is about the storms that come, but you weren’t prepared for them. “Falling Out of Love” is when you knew they would eventually fall out of love with you.

“We wanted to end the album with a cliffhanger,” they confessed.

You would assume that the duo writes songs that are entirely about their relationships, but Shelby informed me, “It’s about 50/50. Sometimes we go into writing a song, and it's just like, ‘Man, this is going on,’ and we write about what that is. And then other times, it's like we want to write a fun song today, but even in those moments, we still connect them to something in our life.”

She continued, “When we write songs that are more vulnerable, we know that music helps us through things, and we want to do the same thing for whoever listens to our music.”

Today, when so much of what you hear on the radio sounds so much alike, Jake and Shelby are a welcomed contrast. Their music blends the intimacy of heartfelt storytelling with the pull of hook-driven pop.

I know without a doubt that if Learning to Love had been around when I was navigating life/love’s ups and downs, I would have had their music on repeat.

You can follow Jake & Shelby on Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, TikTok, and all music streaming platforms.

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Bethany Bowman is a freelance entertainment writer. You can follow her blog, Instagram, and X.

Learning To Love Tracklist
1. “Loophole”
2. “mhm”
3. “You Don’t Know”
4. “A Little At A Time”
5. “Shut Up and Kiss Me”
6. “Fragile”
7. “Stuck On Your Love”
8. “You”
9. “Our Hands”
10. “Run Run Run”
11. “Anymore”
12. “Falling Out Of Love”