New Music: 22° Halo – Reward

Reward by 22° Halo – aka Philadelphia-based songwriter/producer Will Kennedy – is one of eighteen songs on True Names, a new compilation album on Worry Bead Records.

Lo-fi slowcore folk with folk undertones and a delicate arrangement, Reward is a love song from a distinct perspective. It’s intimate and vulnerable, even more so as it drops life-changing moments into a series of daily events.

The overall sense is that Kennedy treads a path between the pastoral folk of Nick Drake and the everyday idiosyncrasies of Richard Dawson. And if you like your folk-aligned music grounded in modern times, this is a song you must hear.

The album is in aid of the Trans Youth Emergency Project (TYEP). The organisation helps families navigate the attack on trans care and people in America, offering logistical and financial support. They provide 1-on-1 custom patient navigation services to unimpacted providers and support families of transgender youth with emergency grants to help them travel for care.

“True Names was inspired by Ursula K. Le Guin’s Earthsea series,” says Matt O’Connor of Worry Bead Records, who are releasing the album. “In the world of Earthsea, True Names are sacred, holding incredible and transformative power. To know your True Name is to know yourself. And to share your True Name is an extreme act of vulnerability and courage.”

“True Names was a big team effort,” continues O’Connor, also a member of Tuxis Giant. “The songs – all unreleased b-sides, demos, and live cuts – were collected from our music communities in Boston, New York, Philly and beyond. With this comp, we hope to do our part in supporting TYEP’s important work.”  

True Names is released on the 2nd of May and is up for pre-order on Bandcamp. All profits will go to TYEP. You can find out more about the work TYEP does on this link, and catch up with 22° Halo on Instagram and pick up the recent Lily of the Valley album on Bandcamp.