Loneliest At Best
Wow, “Loneliest At Best” is the perfect balance of rawness, drive and emotional control. It’s rare to hear that kind of undercurrent, so tense and restless, wrapped in a delivery that feels so calm on the surface. Riot Son manages to hold both at once, letting the listener feel the restraint just as much as the rupture. It’s the sound of someone trying to keep it together, knowing full well they’re about to fall apart. Hailing from Boone, North Carolina, Riot Son records in his bedroom in the mist-covered Appalachian hills—weather he describes as “melancholy” and reminiscent of Seattle or London. That atmosphere seeps into every corner of the track. With the help of German producer Magnet$u, known for working with Ekkstacy, Riot Son draws on a post-emo lineage that nods to The Used and The Smiths, while deliberately layering vocals in the fashion of Lil Peep and Elliott Smith. The result is more than nostalgia; it’s a sonic coping mechanism for what he calls “the melodramatic feeling of falling in and out of love.”