Known for his profoundly pensive lyricism and melancholic instrumentals, Nick Rattigan is evolving from his traditional mode of expressing themes of nostalgia, longing, and personal angst. Current Joys, Rattigan’s solo project, just announced his upcoming album ROSEBUD, which is slated to release under Rattigan’s own label They Are Evil. The album is set to be a perfectly volatile sonic paradox, exploring exceedingly tender themes of heartbreak amidst the chaos of Rattigan’s newfound maximalist production style.

Alongside the announcement of the album, Rattigan releases his lead single “HOLE”, a gritty, digitally-manipulated track that reflects on themes of nihilism while still remaining affectively sincere. Rattigan says exactly what he needs to say in the track, incessantly repeating his central thesis to amplify the profundity of his existentialism: “There's a hole inside my body/ And I fill it up with dirt/ Just so I can hold somebody and make it so much worse.” The pandemonious guitar part is what makes the song so poignant, as the humanity of the track lies in the dissonance between his riotous instrumentals and his simple lyricism. “No matter how loud the song gets, that guitar line seems to hang in space, a weird bit of human persistence and resilience in the face of overwhelming dissonance.”

Rattigan’s inventory of references shaped the production of ROSEBUD. He began developing the album during a markedly melancholic phase of his life, and the production of the album initially reflected this period of despondency until he began collaborating with experimental hip-hop artists like Lil Yachty, Polo Perks, and Ayooli. Rattigan then began developing the project with Danny Dwyer— also known under the alias never goodbye— and they began building atop his original production, adding distortions, screams, and glitches to forge the ferocious sound that now defines the tone of the project. The result is a “collage of all of [his] influences,” and an album that sonically reflects Rattigan’s newfound creative license.

ROSEBUD is set to release November 6th, and Current Joys is currently touring across Europe and the UK; find tickets here.