On the debut EP, “My Love Is A Promise That I Can’t Keep,” Boone, North Carolina’s exciting new bedroom artist RIOT SON unleashes a compelling new sound—”Appalachian Gloom.” This three-track project was delivered to global audiences through an international cooperation between UK/German producer Manget$u, mixing engineer VE Beats, visual directors Very Rare Cinema and Mark, and London-based mentor Philip Spalding, a protégé of Martin Rushent. Together they have brilliantly translated raw, personal loneliness into a beautiful, shared musical experience.
The adventure starts with the first song, “Loneliest At Best,” and it’s like going for a drive down a pitch-black mountain road in the dead of night and then realizing you are totally lost and your headlights aren’t doing much to cut through the dense fog. It’s that very heavy moment where the harder you try to be what people want you to be, the more you feel like you’re not you. Like you’re wearing a big coat that doesn’t fit.
A simple, steady beat mimicking an anxious heartbeat and calming, warm guitar lines provide a gentle truth: we sometimes run after relationships out of a frantic fear of being alone, rather than a true readiness to love. It is a soft, acoustic invitation to pull over to the side of the road, turn off the motor and sit still in the chilly, quiet refuge of our own hearts.
The EP moves into “What Makes You Think,” inviting the listener to delve into a more profound and uncomfortable realm of introspection.This track is like standing next to a window and looking out at the autumn leaves turning brown and falling to the chilly ground, leaving trees totally barren and exposed to the winter.
It’s a great articulation of the weary, physical tiredness of carrying a love that has become a heavy chore– that hurting sensation of staring at a blank screen, waiting for a text message that will never arrive, but still forcing yourself to ponder why you continue to cling onto fragile, broken promises. Our daily troubles are reflected in simple, pointed musical inquiries and a steadily drifting tempo, revealing silent, exhausting concessions and bits of ourselves we give away just to keep the peace.
The emotional and technical pinnacle is reached in the last song, “Slowly Without You,” which puts the listener inside a cold misty chamber in which a broken heart is ultimately laid naked. To give life to this deep anguish, we used a unique recording technique we call the ‘pyramid,’ which mixes a vintage 1974 Shure O Dyne 533SA microphone with an AKG C214 condenser.
The superb arrangement makes the vocals sound like a lonely, mournful whisper reverberating from the walls of an empty castle in deep mountain fog. The music purposefully moves from a quiet, far away verse to an emotionally frantic scream, then back to a delicate, whispered confession of the EP’s title. It’s a time of absolute surrender, like finally releasing oneself to cry after holding it in too long.
These musical passages are quite reflective of the silent difficulties lurking in our daily routines, eventually. It’s like the songs, many of us have weighty, unseen expectations that we lug around daily, putting on brave faces at work and with friends, wanting a moment of respite. We give up our happiness to maintain an illusion of tranquility in our lives. The EP is a safe haven, a comfortable sanctuary, where these emotional boundaries can finally be recognized without guilt. It’s a lovely reminder that letting go of a burden doesn’t mean you failed but that you’re on your way to regaining your own serenity.
All in all, “My Love Is A Promise That I Can’t Keep” is a stunning debut, bound for greater things on the international stage in New York City and London. To get the most out of the listening experience, we suggest finding a peaceful rainy night, putting on a good set of headphones, and allowing yourself to be carried away by these warm, melancholy waves. It’s a beautiful reminder that when promises are broken, we’re just beginning to find our way home.
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