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Photo by Sophie Scott

Just in time to get over Father's Day - Chattysworld has released a vulnerable piece of work dedicated to growing up without one.

Junior, out July 10th, is a collection of music so personal and raw you're not entirely sure you should be allowed to listen to it. The honesty is almost absurd, but it's what makes it so refreshing - watching Kiwi artist Chattysworld unpick the nitty-gritty of a highly complicated relationship with an absentee father. Beautiful vocals and impressive self-produced production draw in any and all ears through soft-spoken vocals and hard-hitting words.

Three songs, three distinct perspectives on what it means to be young, naive, and figuring it out. It's indie at its core, with a folk and rock undertone that would grab the attention of even the indie-avoidant. As the sole producer, writer and artist, everything here - the creative language, the narrative, the visual - is all his. You don't just hear Chattysworld on Junior; you actually get to know him.

The EP artwork says a lot before he plays a single note: the white crop tee, the wooden slingshot, the dark blue undertones - painting a picture of navigating youth, armed and ready to defend himself. Clever, considered, and sets the tone. 

On "Science Fiction," Chattysworld doesn't ease in gently. Gritty, confident guitars welcome you into "Science Fiction" - you can hear the chord changes running up the neck, before delicate, whimsical strings weave underneath, creating an impressive tension: soft, appealing production holding space for lyrics that are anything but. "I'm praying for your overdose."

Then the drums arrive, bringing the energy of a classic Phoebe Bridgers song - propulsive, emotionally loaded - as the track finds its stride. "So I reached out for a hand in the sand and I found my mother's, she's my man / You are science fiction, my old man." Brilliant storytelling; from the very first listen you sense the weight of what it must have taken to say this out loud, let alone solidify it into music.

The chorus pulls a trick, it feels like the drive home from the beach at golden hour, sunshine and warmth completely at odds with what he's actually singing. "I will blame you for everything, so when you die I won't blink." A delicious chorus with jarring lyricism - the oxymoron is devastating and well executed.

In "Childlike", he dances on the edge of digicore, faint background synth strings building an electronic, dreamy soundscape - shifting from coastal cruising to driving down a highway at night. It recalls the early sound of Role Model that everyone fell for, and carries the delicate intimacy that makes Ryan Beatty everyone's true favorit.

The writing here is sharp. "Learnt another lesson from TV / Some kids' dad had died from a rare disease / I think that you had that same damn thing / Asked my mum and she said to take a seat." Minimalist and heartbreaking. The title's double meaning - I'm your child, and you're acting childlike - is clever wordplay that cuts deeper the longer you sit with it. " "My face looks like yours so what does it mean / Your face looks like mine, well - same species." Simple and brutal and cathartic. 

Junior chooses not to close with grief, but with love. It’s refreshing. "Major League" is an ode to young romance - something that sounds like it belongs on the Juno soundtrack, with the warmth and innocence of Kimya Dawson's "My Rollercoaster" running through it. The simplicity of finding a soulmate young, of growing up together, told with the openness and purity of a Noah Kahan love song.

"Hey Major League, how's your day been / I was 18, but I've always known." Closing an EP about an absent father with a song about presence - about someone who stayed and is in it for the long haul. It shows maturity in Chattysworld - It reframes everything before it without undoing any of it. "Talking about the future to people who don't even know her, and it's funny they don't seem to realise that the stories are all through her eyes."

Chattysworld is making music to figure things out about himself, not for anyone else - and illogically, that's exactly why listeners will love it. He sits at a growing intersection of indie artists scoring deeply personal, heavy subjects with textural production and lyrics that swing between meaningful and self-effacing. His candor is admirable and he shouldn't stay under the radar for long.

Listen to Junior below: