Artist d4vd released his debut album “Withered” on Friday, April 25. While this is his first complete album, featuring 14 songs, he has released several EPs and singles spanning the past few years. He is most widely known for his songs “Feel It” featured in the show Invincible, and “Remember Me” from the show Arcane: League of Legends. The artist teased his album earlier this year in February with the release of two singles “Crashing” featuring Kali Uchis and “Where’d It Go Wrong”.
I, personally, am not completely familiar with all of d4vd’s work. I originally became interested in his music early last year after my boyfriend introduced me to it. I liked the sound of his songs, the overall indie feel, and am most familiar with his upbeat track “Feel It” as that is the first song of his that my boyfriend suggested. I love that song because it carries such a sweet meaning to me. I’m a sucker for anything involving romance- as anyone who knows me can tell you- so I was intrigued when I heard that he would be releasing a full album. I had not known the style, vibe, or anything of that sort before listening to the album, I had sort of put it on the ‘back burner’ of my mind. However, I was pleasantly surprised when I saw his album was fully released.
Now, even though this album is a mix of emotions, mostly sad, I still love the overall character of the music itself. The artist carries his emotions so strongly through his songs, it’s hard not to admire even the saddest of them.
D4vd beautifully illustrates his feelings of love, heartbreak, and regret throughout his album. Listeners can feel every ounce of his emotions. Many of his songs take winding twists and turns as he leads them through the highs and lows of love. Most notable lyrics from his song “Sky” include:
The way you look at me turns water to wine
…
I don’t need you to lean on me ever again
I just want you to be my friend.
He goes on to illustrate an internal conflict between holding on and letting go in his heart wrenching song “Say It Back,”
But I can’t let you go
Cause I love you
Like I’m supposed to
But you don’t say it back
You never say it back
So now I hate you
And I hope it breaks you.
Throughout his album, d4vd is intent on breaking listeners hearts in such a beautifully written way. It truly is such an emotional album, as d4vd is incredibly vulnerable in his work. That is something I enjoyed about it, though, how raw and real his music felt. One can genuinely feel his heartbreak in a voice snippet from a female voice in the end of his song “You Left Me First,”
“I sound so stupid right now, but like I’ve been so selfish, and I can’t stop thinking about you and what I did and how it’s affecting, like, everything. I just wanted to say I’m sorry. I really am sorry.”
“Withering” captures the vulnerability of the human experience in every aspect. D4vd does not fail to exceed expectations in his work, and especially in his first album.
Overall, I would rate this album a 9.5/10.
I admired the character of the music. He did wonderfully in demonstrating every part of the cycle of his love- the exponential highs and the deteriorating lows. The only part keeping this from a full 10 is the focus on the heartbreak. Now, I know that is the entire point of the album, and he did exceptionally. However, I think I’m too much of a romantic to regularly listen to many sad songs. I look forward to what d4vd has planned for future works, and what direction he will take with them.
Whitley Brown is a second-year communication major at the University of Science and Arts of Oklahoma.
