Tomberlin. Photo by Michelle Yoon.
The hushed, moving indie compositions of Tomberlin have earned the singer-songwriter a dedicated cult fanbase including Alex G, who produced her 2020 EP Projections. Her first new song since that project, “‘idkwntht,” is out today.
An anagram for "I Don't Know Who Needs To Hear This," Tomberlin's latest song is a salve for its songwriter that hopes it has restorative properties for people beyond its creator. Told Slant's Felix Walworth acts as a kind of echo for Tomberlin's self-conscious affirmations, each line written like it is gently tracing the outline of some healing scar. Beneath Tomberlin's gentle acoustic guitar, warm saxophone, and the percussion's endearing slouch lies clips of old home movies; warped and foggy, the coos of the children we hear feel like the foundation of the song, as if the ghosts of Tomberlin past are responding positively to her search for clarity.
“‘idkwntht’ is a sonic altar of sorts," Tomberlin wrote in a press statement. "It’s about taking a moment for remembrance, clarity, and setting an intention for what is to come. Kind of like a song version of writing out your intentions on a full moon. holding onto feelings, words, and past versions of ourselves and our behavior only helps when we can examine experiences once we are outside of them. then we have to let it out, let it go, and try again.”
