Johnathan Maske sounds like he immersed himself in some late 60s and early 70s folk singers on “Chasing Shadows,” the debut single from his forthcoming album The Down Valley (out in May 2024). The vocals tilt over the edge a little when hitting that falsetto with raw feeling but reel back in with the the chill melodies that run through the song. There’s a melancholic tone to the song and its orchestral songwriting is reminiscent of something out of a Spaghetti western but with all the desert tones turned icy and overcast rather than sun scorched, like a film Sergio Leone might have made based on an Edgar Allan Poe story. The shuffling beat and slightly lo-fi production lends the song a quality that feels like it’s from another decade like music you’d hear in the end scenes and credits of a baroque horror or thriller film from the UK or Europe in the aforementioned era of folk. The sentiments of the lyrics read like the thoughts of a person who is trapped by his own paranoid thoughts and visions of failure, petty revenge and futility and the song serves well the tragic mood of that kind of emotional isolation and that the song sometimes feels like it could fall apart the essential fragility of that headspace. And yet there’s a compelling hauntedness to the song that draws you in to the end. Listen to “Chasing Shadows” on Spotify and follow Johanthan Maske at the links below. In the months ahead Maske will release further singles from the album leading up to its issuance in the spring.
Queen City Sounds and Art 
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