Sean Solomon

Just when Sean Solomon thought he was out, they pulled him back in. The songwriter had stepped away from the mic, making the difficult decision with his bandmates to put his Sub Pop-signed band Moaning on indefinite hiatus and recalibrate. He poured himself into animation — an obsession and dream job that quickly became a reality. He made music videos for Run The Jewels and Unknown Mortal Orchestra and CHAI and Odd Future. He was living a dream, but it was only part of the dream. He still heard chords when he went to bed, ached for the feeling that artists like Elliott Smith, The Microphones, and Neutral Milk Hotel gave him. The itch returned, so he started writing again during the pandemic. He couldn’t imagine a life without songwriting, but he pursued it free from the expectations that come alongside a career in the industry. It allowed him to make music that felt closer to his ideal self than ever before. “That's when it clicked and I started making this kind of music where I didn’t give a shit what anyone thinks.” One of the songs he recorded with producer Jarvis Taveniere (Whitney, Purple Mountains, Waxahatchee), was a track called “Car Crash.” It was inspired by his unwillingness to drive, despite being from Los Angeles — facing his fears and learning how to navigate an automobile, then getting in a horrifying wreck that was completely his fault. After writing and recording, Solomon was restless enough to simply drop a live performance video online without fanfare. His entire life changed. Almost immediately after being released, the song had found a massive audience; his audience. The simple guitar melody and raw, in your face vocal performance resonated with people everywhere. “Life is chaos, love is pain,” Solomon sings. The chorus, which features Shannon Lay, is short but packs a mighty punch. “I think people are reacting to the sincerity and honesty. I’m just being myself,” Solomon speculates. Everything is algorithmically curated, and “Car Crash” feels like the exact opposite — a spur of the moment flash of brilliance. It’s vulnerable and you can hear the feelings Solomon works through as he sings. It’s a splash of cold water on a hot day. It’s a tale so morally-driven that it belongs in a self-help book. “Follow your dreams, honor your vision, and good shit happens.” More like, work your ass off for a decade honing the voice you’ve always heard in your head, follow the light that keeps you up at night. Then, just maybe, you might find your fan base. That fan base might be 10 hardcore devotees, or millions of views across social media. As for “Car Crash,” Sean had no idea it would resonate with people the way it has. “Kids were covering the song before it was even released. It’s so touching. It’s amazing,” he marvels, before hedging his bets: “This was all a surprise. I'll take what I can get.”