august for dawn - “Methanol”
Photo provided by august for dawn
From New Zealand, singer-songwriter Charlie Ryder, aka august for dawn, has just released the ethereally-charged, folk-driven “Methanol.”
This track is rather sparse and lo-fi in its entirety, which brings to its surface a level of intimacy of which we have grown to be quite fond since our blog’s inception. The delicate strums of an acoustic guitar ring out at the press of the play button, raw and authentic, allowing the listener to feel as though they are present in the room as it is being recorded.
Ryder’s vocal performance enters “Methanol” in a remarkably multi-layered fashion, and it is relatively clear that the track has been inspired by the likes of Elliott Smith, one of our all-time faves. The fact that the arrangement consists primarily of acoustic guitar does not stop the vocal work from filling in all of the melodic and ambient spaces of the production– the precise reason that we had to feature it here.
As “Methanol” progresses, the eventual arrival of wondrous falsettos and synthy textures will most assuredly cause listeners to return to the tune for multiple listening sessions. This song goes especially well with those bouts of introspection we often find to be essential this time of year. We simply cannot wait for you to hear it: