Ryan Hemsworth Goes (Even More) Emo For “Snow in Newark”

The first track off his forthcoming studio album finds the DJ leaning into his sensitive side.

September 23, 2014

Ryan Hemsworth's forthcoming studio album will apparently be a much quieter and more intimate affair than the remixes he uses to rev-up live shows, with every song recorded in a minor key and featuring the DJ Next Door on the guitar. And if “Snow In Newark,” our first taste of the as yet untitled album, is any indication, it will be a beautiful thing. Featuring delicate, lovesick vocals from Mad Decent's Dawn Golden, it finds Hemsworth leaning hard into his tendency towards tenderness. “It's about trying to get back to my first love, emo music, actually,” he explained for Vogue, where the song was premiered. He added, “Maybe it's a reaction to all the party music out there now, but I just needed to do something a little quieter.”

UPDATE: The accompanying video for "Snow In Newark," which was culled from footage of a stunningly beautiful and truly enviable, weeklong sojourn Hemsworth took in Nepal—a place that sort of feels a million miles away, even if that's not quite so. The trip was, Hemsworth says, "my quest to get out of these clubs and find something different... I tried to take everything in; overwhelmed in a different way than usual and a hiatus from necessary evils." Take a few minutes to watch it over on AloneForTheFirstTime.com.

Additionally, Hemsworth has revealed that his sophomore will be called Alone For The First Time. In addition Dawn Golden, it will feature appearances from DOSS, GTW, Little Cloud and more (check the complete tracklist below). "I'm trying things at a different pace; fighting with expectations and conventional formulas," he explains in a press release. "It's been a weird time for me, so 'Snow In Newark' and the rest of this album are my personal reactions to the current state of electronic and rock music." Alone For The First Time arrives November 4 via Last Gangs/Secret Songs.

Alone For The First Time Tracklist

1. Hurt Me
2. Walk Me Home (w/ Lontalius)
3. Snow In Newark (w/ Dawn Golden)
4. Blemish
5. Too Long Here (w/ Alex G)
6. Surrounded (w/ Kotomi & DOSS)
7. By Myself (w/ the GTW & Little Cloud)

Ryan Hemsworth Goes (Even More) Emo For “Snow in Newark”