Love You Less
by Joji

Album: Piss In the Wind (2026)
Play Video

Songfacts®:

  • "Love You Less" sketches a relationship that's stopped working but hasn't yet admitted it. There's plenty of motion - pushing, pulling, reaching - but none of it in the right direction. Joji pours on affection and receives steadily diminishing returns until he arrives at a bleak modern conclusion: Maybe the need itself is the problem.
  • The song's central line - "If I love you less, will you love me more" - exposes the unspoken rule of contemporary intimacy, where emotional restraint often wins and indifference becomes a form of leverage. In Joji's world, love can turn into a standoff, not unlike the emotional stalemates explored in "Slow Dancing In The Dark" or the quiet resignation of "Run," where wanting something too badly almost guarantees you won't get it.
  • Like many of Joji's songs, "Love You Less" isn't about a specific real-life relationship. It feels emotionally true without being autobiographical in any verifiable way, more a distilled pattern than a diary entry.
  • Instead of Joji's usual sleek, R&B-leaning minimalism, "Love You Less" leans into shoegaze. (Shoegaze is a subgenre of alternative rock defined by dense, effects-heavy guitar "walls of sound," hazy vocals, and dreamy atmospheres, pioneered by bands like My Bloody Valentine in the late 1980s UK scene). Producers Ricky Reed and Nate Mercereau build the song around a hazy, surf-tinged guitar line soaked in chorus and flanger effects, creating a foggy backdrop for Joji's weightless vocals. Some critics have suggested the title winks toward My Bloody Valentine's 1991 album Loveless.
  • Reed brings a résumé that includes Lizzo's era-defining hits, "Truth Hurts," "Good As Hell" and About Damn Time" along with work for The Weeknd and Camila Cabello.

    Mercereau has also worked with Lizzo, as well as Shawn Mendes ("Wonder") and Leon Bridges ("Motorbike").
  • "Love You Less" appears on Piss In The Wind, Joji's fourth album and his first release through his own Palace Creek label, distributed by Virgin Music.

Comments

Be the first to comment...

Editor's Picks

Gary Lewis

Gary LewisSongwriter Interviews

Gary Lewis and the Playboys had seven Top 10 hits despite competition from The Beatles. Gary talks about the hits, his famous father, and getting drafted.

AC/DC

AC/DCFact or Fiction

Does Angus really drink himself silly? Did their name come from a sewing machine? See if you can spot the real stories about AC/DC.

Chrissie Hynde of The Pretenders

Chrissie Hynde of The PretendersSongwriter Interviews

The rock revolutionist on songwriting, quitting smoking, and what she thinks of Rush Limbaugh using her song.

The Fratellis

The FratellisSongwriter Interviews

Jon Fratelli talks about the band's third album, and the five-year break leading up to it.

Kelly Keagy of Night Ranger

Kelly Keagy of Night RangerSongwriter Interviews

Kelly Keagy of Night Ranger tells the "Sister Christian" story and explains why he started sweating when he saw it in Boogie Nights.

Laura Nyro

Laura NyroSongwriting Legends

Laura Nyro talks about her complex, emotionally rich songwriting and how she supports women's culture through her art.