The Desolation of America is the second album from the multi-instrumentalist and singer-songwriter Koyama, who fuses classic art rock tones with modernist sound designs. The Radiohead influence is tangible through the complexity of the percussion and the ebbing and flowing vocals that drift in and out of focus around the psychedelic synthetics, especially in the politically melancholic single, Desolation of America.
If Koyama is this talented at 18, he has an exceptionally bright future ahead of him. Especially with his gift of lyrically gnawing away at socio-political themes while psychedelically stripping the dismay from the equation with his artful vocal pitches that complement the colourfully kaleidoscopic chords and droning keys. It’s almost impossible to believe that Koyama only started to write and produce songs in his bedroom during the pandemic. He is definitely one to watch.
Desolation of America is now available to stream on Spotify.
Review by Amelia Vandergast