Ones2Watch Home

Photo: Daniel Topete

“I’m just very excited for this era to start and for this album to be out,” says Adam Melchor ahead of the release of his long-awaited debut album, Here Goes Nothing!, the follow-up to his 2021 effort, Melchor Lullaby Hotline Vol. 1.

The autumn energy in this record is an idyllic soundscape for the timing of its release. Releasing on the 21st alongside fellow heavy-hitting autumn tone-setter Taylor Swift, we will all have a plethora of new music to add to our Fall playlists. “Selfishly, at the very least probably that day there’s going to be more singer-songwriter fans perusing Spotify than ever before," Melchor jokes. "But it’ll be nice to share the stage with somebody as important to music as her.”

The album was co-produced by both Melchor and Henry Kwapis (Benny Blanco, Dave [television series]). The simplistic production in the 10 tracks were created with traditional instrumental elements but is fully layered with rich textures and soothing vocal harmonies. “So, as you listen to it you can hear something new every time but the production doesn’t override any of the songwriting elements. It takes somebody like Henry to do that in an interesting way,” states the singer-songwriter.

“I’m Afraid I Love You” opens the album with Melchor setting the stage for what's to follow, both emotionally and musically. The album's title actually is derived from one of the last lyrics in the first number. “‘I’m Afraid I Love You’ was like the first song that we finished. When that was done, we were like this is what the album needs to be about,” Mechor says. “That song to me was probably the most adventurous production-wise. We wanted to sort of do something that speaks to how the feeling of love actually affects you.”

Decorated pop artist and songwriter Charlie Puth's touch can also be found on the album, assisting with writing “Let Me Know When” after Melchor played on Puth's living room piano. Robin Pecknold of Fleet Foxes steps in on the aforementioned “Let Me Know When” with the album’s only listed featured artist.

Melchor shared with us the story of how he first reached out to Pecknold, “When I first reached out to Robin, I was basically opening for this artist named Rodrigo y Gabriela. I was playing in Seattle, and I knew he was from Seattle. So, I posted him on my story saying, ‘Do you wanna sing with me tonight’—as a joke—he like sincerely messaged me back. He was like ‘Hey, man. I’m sorry, I’m not in Seattle right now.’ I was like, ‘oh sh*t!’ So, he started following me and while I was starting to get ready for writing for an album and whatnot, I was like you know what, we follow each other. Let me just DM him and see if he’d be down to write a song. Then, I was like let me just check out his Instagram and see what he’s up to. He had just posted a Rolling Stone article about how he hates when people just message him saying, ‘let’s write a song’. He said he’d much rather hop on a recording if you already have something. Thank God on Instagram you can delete the DMs. So, I went back, I unsent, and I was like okay, let me just think of something he could actually be helpful with.” 

He wound up deciding on “Let Me Know When.” To Melchor, it’s one of the best songs that he’s ever written, so he knew early on it’d make the album. “I really [thought] he could help, so I sent him a message and he was like, 'Yeah, I’m totally down.'"

Here Goes Nothing! is inundated with the dreamy autumnal folk that makes for the best memories in life and is there to soundtrack both those golden hues and somber blues that define the season. Nonetheless, the music that Melchor and Kwapis have been able to create with Here Goes Nothing! is more than deserving of the title of timelessness. 

Prior to embarking on an extensive headline tour starting January 2023, Melchor is currently hitting the road with Noah Kahan on his sold-out fall tour. The run of dates includes performances at New York’s Pier 17, Los Angeles’ The Wiltern, Chicago’s Riviera Theatre, Philadelphia’s The Fillmore, and more.

“I’m super proud of [the album]," excitedly states Melchor," I think as I get to this, I get to play shows, I just get to do all the things I want to do. I am very lucky to live the life that I do.”