Previously recording as The Firs, Albany-based songwriter Rick Spataro has made a name for himself crafting restrained, melodic songs that utilise an array of instruments while maintaining a personal, elegant sound. Next month sees Spataro return in a new guise, Onlyness, with his debut self-titled album to be released in July on Five Kill Records.
You might also know Spataro as one-third of bedroom pop masters Florist, and the Onlyness sound certainly draws from the same well of muted intimacy. The new record sees him rely on perhaps more traditional instrumentation than that used by Florist and The Firs, but the same spirit lies behind the sound. As such, Onlyness merely uses different brushes and strokes with the same airy palette to produce pictures very much belonging to Spataro’s sonic world, but distinctive enough so as to be worthy additions.
We’re delighted to bring you a brand new video for the third single, ‘Comfortable’. As well as typifying the sedate yet uplifting rhythm of the Onlyness sound, the track also shows off Spataro’s songwriting and deadpan delivery. This creates the central tension of the track, a push and pull between the sincere emotion of the lyrics and sceptical distance of the vocals, though the song’s eventual rise into a warm singalong allows the former to win out.
“Beautiful God at the
heart of the hymnal
I know you’re not real
but I know you’re a symbol
and there’s a whole lot of people
who are asking for you
cos’ they all heard the same thing too”
Onlyness will be released on the 6th July via Five Kill Records and you can pre-order it now from Bandcamp.