What stands out to me about RIOT SON isn’t just the music itself, but the world surrounding it. With My Love Is A Promise That I Can’t Keep, RIOT SON introduces what he calls “Appalachian Gloom,” a sound rooted in isolation, emotional fallout, and the feeling of trying to find connection from somewhere that feels very far away.
This three-song EP feels less like a debut and more like a personal release of pressure. At its center is “Slowly Without You,” a closing track that acts as both an ending and a rebirth, written during late-night drives through the Appalachian Mountains and shaped by moments spent reflecting at Price Lake.
What I find most interesting is how carefully the atmosphere was built. The recording process wasn’t just technical, it feels deeply tied to the emotion of the songs themselves. RIOT SON used a vintage 1974 Shere O Dyne microphone alongside an AKG C214 in a dual “pyramid” setup, panning the recordings across the stereo field before pulling them together into a massive emotional peak. That technique creates what he describes as a “phantom layer,” and honestly, it sounds less like production and more like architecture.
The sonic influences are there too. You can hear traces of Gerard Way and Robert Smith in the vocal approach, while artists like Beach House, Cigarettes After Sex, and Sparklehorse seem to shape the emotional texture surrounding it. But the result doesn’t feel like imitation. It feels like those influences filtered through mountain fog and emotional exhaustion.
What makes this project connect for me is that it embraces vulnerability without trying to tidy it up. The emotional crescendos give way to fragile moments, whispered endings, and spaces where the music feels almost like it’s breathing.
There’s also something compelling about the contrast behind the project itself. A bedroom studio in Boone, North Carolina became the starting point for a collaboration stretching across Germany, Canada, London, and beyond. That tension between local isolation and global connection feels embedded in the music. For me, My Love Is A Promise That I Can’t Keep succeeds because it transforms loneliness into atmosphere rather than simply documenting it. It’s haunting, emotionally heavy, and surprisingly healing. And that emotional honesty is what gives it its impact.
connect with RIOT SON on