– featured image courtesy of the artist –
a change of scenery can prove to be a powerful catalyst for inspiration. after logging years of work alongside treasured artists like lomelda and molly burch, ryan von gonten departed texas on a coastal venture, arriving in oakland in time for the seeds of his solo debut to germinate. truthlikeness is a fully-realized inaugural outing, its eight songs a synthesis of the loneliness that can transpire upon arrival in an unfamiliar place.
as a primer to von gonten’s forthcoming full-length, bear witness to “anthem.” slow tremolo pulses are driven from their cavernous expanses by a soft but persistent keyboard line, blooming into a consonance of dream-pop and folk, the former twinkling in the latter’s gentle breeze. von gonten’s instantly memorable falsetto is an enduring force throughout, commandeering the track with a hushed tenor that sounds like it was delivered crouched over a microphone in utter secrecy. a compelling glimpse of things to come, “anthem” embodies its title in its own singular way, harnessing an inherent intimacy and doling out salient components for maximum effect.
truthlikeness arrives at the tail-end of summer via glasgow’s human noise records and features contributions from lomelda’s hannah read and andrew stevens, who also lends his percussive talents to the live rendition of hovvdy. the album’s lead single, “anthem,” premieres today, right here on the dimestore. listen in below.
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