The Thanks is the latest single from Roman Around, the musical vehicle for Roman Rivera, and it swims in loose guitars, slow and off kilter bass and a spectral vocal that gives the song a distinctive, sun dazed aesthetic. It follows on from the hazy track DNT, as featured on BlackPlastic.co.uk back in 2022.
There are traces of Animal Collective, Phoenix, and Kindness on display on The Thanks, all wound up in a tight little art-pop package. The song conveys a growing desperation in Roman’s heavy vocal performance, a sense of lethargy coming through as the performance depicts the complexities that exist within unconditional love.
In addition to the song’s general aesthetic, which shimmers with a distinctive sense of emotive style, the song playfully experiments with rhythm, with distinctive stops, starts, and fills. The result is surprising, particularly given the song’s short run-time, yet it never risks derailing the overall performance. The result is playful, yet emotive.
Growing up as a multi-racial artist in Fresno, California, where they currently serve as a music educator, Roman Rivera has looked to create a safe space for themselves, and others, in the LGBTQ+ and POC music, and general, communities. Bringing together complex rhythms and hazy textures, Rivera takes inspiration from shoegaze, drone, and chillwave outfits like the Cocteau Twins, DIIV, and Toro Y Moi.
Check the video for The Thanks below: