Music Artists You Should Know: Skateland

Although he’s still saying hello and introducing himself to new listeners, Austin-based singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Skateland is saying goodbye to former loves on his new indie-rock single, “Sunset Cinema.” Prior to launching his music career a little over two years ago, Dorian Williams II made the move from Las Vegas to the University of Texas.

There, he spent his free time picking up multiple instruments and seeing where they would take him on a creative level, eventually reaching a point where he decided to begin songwriting formally. That decision has already shown to pay off, having just opened for Foster the People at Emo’s Austin at the start of the month on Oct. 3.

With “Sunset Cinema,” Williams shows his hopeless romantic side similar to previous EPs and singles such as “Autobahn!,” which dived into the emotional rollercoaster of modern love through skeletal electronic instrumentation.

“I wrestle a lot with the tension of letting go and moving on, and that can be for something as big as ending a relationship, or as simple as throwing away a beat up old t-shirt,” said Williams. “There’s a romanticism to that idea which can be great, but the downside is that you can sometimes stay in something for longer than you should because you’re hyper aware that when it’s over it’ll be gone for good.”

“Sunset Cinema” opens with shimmering guitar licks before Williams’ velveteen voice sings out his thought process through the ending of a doomed relationship. Despite being an unavoidable yet sad reality, the slow realization of the relationship’s end contrasts the dreamy mixing and production, in which the vocals gradually bleed into as if they were another sonic texture. After all the emotional turmoil that Williams goes through, he still holds onto a sense of hope consistent with the wonder he incorporates into every one of his releases thus far.

The music video, although simple in theory, captures the coming-of-age angle Williams often approaches his songs. In a 5-minute continuous shot, he and a coming-and-going group of friends go biking down streets that are the stuff of nostalgia, while the single’s lyrics serve as the unspoken dialogue between Williams and his friends. Mirroring the final nail in the coffin for the relationship, everyone begins to depart from one another, literally taking different paths that drive home the pains of growing up.

The combination of pop sensibilities and musings on love in the modern age is a tried and true formula that often leads to success for many indie artists. In the case of Skateland, the aptitude to continue delivering that combination on every release while pushing himself artistically, whether through the sounds he explores or in his own voice, garnering a wider audience is more of an inevitability than an uncertain future.

Words: David Sosa

“Sunset Cinema” by Skateland is out now on streaming services. For more on new music and potential shows, follow him on Instagram.