“A slow-burn anthem which aches with longing, shot through with striking imagery and unguarded emotion.” So we wrote of ‘My Man’, a recent single from Thavoron on Trailing Twelve Records. The Seattle-based Cambodian-American artist has made a name exploring ideas of grief, desire and cultural identity from within the queer experience, and ‘My Man’ was suggestive of the affirming, empowering tone which emerges from such a process. “But the sound escalates as the song progresses, gathering a momentum as though Thavoron finds a newfound conviction within it’s build,” as we continued, “coming to reach the conclusion that the other they so desire does not hold the key to their own identity. That feeling at home in one’s body is a process to be face on their own terms.”
Now Thavoron is back with a new single, ‘Forever Young’. As the title suggests, the song is an ode to youth and the first green shoots of love and longing. Opening with subdued beats and stark guitar, it soon blooms into something as tender and dramatic as the emotions it sets out to capture. “’Forever Young’ came from a place in my heart that deeply wanted to immortalize the feeling of young, queer love,” Thavoron explains. “The feeling of realizing that imperfection comes with youth, and that we’re still young in this moment, so it’s fine that things aren’t perfect—as long as we’re together. I think this song was an opportunity to reveal my inner naiveté, a mindset revolving around the idea that ignorance is bliss.”
‘Forever Young’ is out now via streaming services.
Photo by Maddie Ludgate