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Jul 18, 2023 By Caleb Campbell Photography by Lexi Bonin

Los Angeles-based indie singer/songwriter Joh Chase has been steadily honing their style over the years, first beginning in the world of lyrical and introspective folk rock, and more recently building out their sound with shades of indie rock, pop, bedroom folk, and blues. Earlier this year, Chase returned with new music, now signed to Kill Rock Stars. Chase has been spending the year releasing a string of new singles, beginning with “Lucky Penny” and followed by another new track, “Another Lover.” Today, they’re back with their latest effort, “Sometimes,” premiering with Under the Radar.

“Sometimes” goes in a different direction than either of Chase’s two previous singles, instead taking a detour through simmering, off-kilter art pop. Sparse and subdued synth chords form the track’s core, joined by smoky guitars and pounding percussion. In contrast, Chase’s vocals are searing and impassioned, delivered in a rapid-fire tumble before spiraling upwards into airy harmonies. Meanwhile, their lyrics meditate on meaning and purpose in abstract imagery: “Take a bath in my own water / See my tracks and they are hollow / Still my feet so wide / Take a big stride in the path I’ve been given / But I’m trying to find if this is what I’m living for.”

Chase says of the track, “‘Sometimes’ was written on the back of other mumblecore bedroom songs that bubbled up since the pandemic started. A true anthem of my daily conversations with myself; the full plate of self-doubt and confusion served alongside the mind-melting faith in something more clear headed my way, is a mental course I snack on hourly. This is my sticky note to myself that I wish I could leave on the surface of every door I walk through each day.”

Check out the song below. “Sometimes” is out everywhere now via Kill Rock Stars.