There’s something instantly comforting about lo-fi music. Perhaps it’s the warmth of the tape, that staticky pop and hiss that sounds worn and welcoming like how nostalgia feels. Or maybe it’s the implied intimacy of the performance, the raw and unvarnished authenticity of an artist creating without the gleam of studio polish. Whatever it is, it sparks a deep-seated longing for connection within me.

For the past decade, Christian Perez—now writing under the moniker Hark—has been shaping his spare analog recordings into a DIY aesthetic he calls “disenchanted Americana.” On his first single “Bad News,” Perez describes the ruins of a relationship where “The morning after all the laughter when you’re damning the sun / That’s when the weight sets in” as he channels early John Darnielle. His desperate words raze through the mix with a cutting intensity, and the musical backdrop of blown-out acoustic guitars and lo-fi drums only heighten his heartfelt observations. If like me, you spent a lot of your life listening to early Bright Eyes, you’ll find lots to love in Hark’s blend of spinning lyrics and fuzzy, anthemic folk rock.

It’s taken a long time to get here. “Bad News”—and the other eight songs on his upcoming debut From Back Then and Afterward—are the product of ten years of anguish, reflection, and rebirth. There were times were he hid himself away from the world in self-imposed exile, but, as Perez notes on Bandcamp, the songs always saw him through. “I’ve long struggled with self-doubt and, at times, a debilitating lack of self-worth,” he writes, “but I followed a small spark to something I am proud to share.” With “Bad News,” he’s stokes that initial spark into glowing, persistent embers.

Listen below.

From Back Then and Afterward is out Feb. 12 on digital and limited edition cassette via Star Rats Records. Pre-orders are available here and include a physical zine titled EAV by Perez and collaborator Hannah Frank.

More Info
Bandcamp: workofhark.bandcamp.com
Facebook: @hark.tunes
Instagram: @workofhark
Twitter: @workofhark