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Jun 23, 2021 By Caleb Campbell

Maine-based singer/songwriter and poet Chris Robley found himself in the midst of a reckoning with both his late father and his country when writing his new record, A Filament In the Wilderness of What Comes Next. Confronted by the mounting costs of white supremacy, the brutality of unchecked capitalism, and his late father’s support of Trump’s candidacy, Robley went searching inward for new traces of hope and empathy. Robley’s latest work sees him process the last several years while searching for a new path forward, all filtered through his trademark poetic voice and sharp wit.

Robley most recently shared a taste of the record with “There Is A Bird” last month and he’s now back with another new single, “Love In a Time Of Sharp Decline,” premiering early with Under the Radar.

Taking inspiration from consummate storytellers like Jason Isbell and Bruce Springsteen, Robley traces stories of struggle, sacrifice, and devotion on “Love In a Time Of Sharp Decline.” Robley’s characters fight through (or flee from) times of struggle as he explores love in dark days, carried by soulful lyricism and swelling choral vocal harmonies. Robley proves himself to be a songwriter of uncommon empathy and grace, translating his character’s trials into powerfully stirring indie folk.

Robley says of the track:

“My father was dying and Trump had just been elected president. Shit winter.

The phrase ‘love in a time of sharp decline’ came to me and I pretty quickly imagined some characters rising to the occasion (or ducking out) during difficult times.

There’s an undocumented mother entrusting her sick child to the systems she’s rightfully suspicious of. An early Pope presiding over — and then running from — the fall of Rome. A mother (basically my mother), bravely facing my father’s death alongside him every day through his final months.

Harmonies (and violins!) by Anna Tivel and Margaret Gibson Wehr.”

Check out the song below and watch for A Filament In the Wilderness of What Comes Next.