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May 28, 2026 By Caleb Campbell Photography by Caleb Hoh

Nashville-based musician James Droll has spent the last few years contributing songs to artists in the pop and electronica world, but lately he has been venturing into soft-spun yet playful singer/songwriter fare under the moniker Big Guy & The Very Large Men. Droll debuted the project with his latest single, “COWBOY BOOTS,” and later this month, he’s set to share Big Guy’s debut EP, soft hands, hard times, due out on June 26th. Today, he is back with an early listen to another new track, “Only Sin,” premiering with Under the Radar.

“Only Sin” is delicate and beautifully vulnerable, painting Droll’s vocals in light acoustic chords and honeyed melodies. Even when Droll throws in understated guitar lines and meditative dream folk sprawls of strings and keys, he keeps the song’s scale small and intimate, never pulling focus away from his aching vocal performance. The track has the emotional weight of a keening pop ballad, delivered with the welcoming feel of a flowery folk confessional. Meanwhile, Droll contrasts the warm springtime glimmer of the melodies with a cutting lyrical tone, navigating the thorny experience of being in love with someone who is still closeted. He croons, “Loving you was our secret / One that you were always better at keeping / I remember the first time you told me to hide until the coast is clear / Why the hell did you bring me all the way here? / And that’s my only sin / Couldn’t love myself the way that I loved him.”

Droll says of the track, “This song is what I would consider one of the best songs I’ve ever written. I started this song by myself, brought it to [bassist Reed Berin], and eventually looped in [guitarist Louis Johnson]. It’s an honest look back at the relationship that brought me to Nashville in the first place. My ex was in the closet at the time that we dated and for years after we broke up. I got in way over my head and couldn’t handle the pressure of keeping his secret, living in a new city, and my feelings after having recently kicked open my own closet door. “I remember the first time you told me to hide until the coast is clear,’ this line speaks to the feeling of having one foot back in the closet. To his credit, I am 100% sure that me being triggered 24/7 was not helpful for the longevity of our relationship. ‘Only Sin’ is the uno reverse card to my conservative Christian upbringing.”

Check out the song below. Big Guy & The Very Large Men’s debut EP, soft hands, hard times, is due out everywhere on June 26th.