“The Toll of Unconditional Love is deeply inspired by my personal experiences, particularly the complex emotions surrounding relationships that have been marked by absence and abandonment,” as Rivera explains. “In this album, I delve into the emotional weight of maintaining unwavering love despite facing personal struggles and the challenges that come with it.” This process represents a continuation of the intent at the centre of the roman around project, which has long served as a way of enabling those who felt excluded from music—especially those in LGBTQ+ communities and POC—to have a safe space in which to create and communicate.

Latest single and opening track ‘Get It From You’ is the perfect introduction, a song about heritage and inherited traits that begins slow and considered but grows into an understated epic. The first section is a masterclass in building atmosphere, wrapping Rivera’s vocals in a blanket of gauzy and emotional pop, before subtle percussion heralds the arrival of raw electric guitar and a long wailing passage of blown-out saxophone. The result is something that wouldn’t feel out of place on the fantastic soundtrack to Jane Schoenbrun’s feature I Saw the TV Glow and serves as the ideal mission statement for the record as a whole.

The Toll of Unconditional Love is out now via Trailing Twelve Records.

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Leaning very much into the post-punk end of the spectrum, the track offers a new dimension to the roman around project. It swaps out the smooth tones of the previous tracks for something heavier and more visceral. But beneath the weight lies the same tender compassion, the song both mourning and celebrating our relationship with animals, remembering the companionship they offer and the inherent goodness of such a thing, even when tragedy clouds the relationship.

“Rhythm was my pup who I had for a couple of months,” Rivera explains. “He had a disability that made him walk funny and emotionally extreme. He passed away in my arms suddenly and tragically. Rhythm was not the first animal I watched pass, so this song is a memorial to all my animal friends. Our pets feel like family. Our pet relationships and the way we cherish them should be celebrated.” ‘Rhythm’ might be a bittersweet celebration, but it is a celebration nonetheless.

I wish you know
How much I loved you so
Cause I loved you so

Check out the video by Nicholas Crespin and Roman Rivera below:

‘Rhythm’ is out now via Trailing Twelve Records and you can get it from all the usual places.

photo by Ker

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