Hope You Can Hear Me Now by Baltyk

Sometimes, focal points in life feel like smooth transitions, gliding from one segment to another without the slightest hint of slowing down, only revealing itself as a junction in hindsight. However, other times these pivotal moments reflect the writing on Hope You Can Hear Me Now by Baltyk, bringing us to a full stop as we struggle to find even a single viable path forward. This heartwarmingly sincere singer-songwriter album sits at the bottom of the slick slope of childhood, craning its neck to make out the details of the path just traversed. An amalgamation of elements from 90s soft alternative create a unique yet familiar sound, with anthemic choruses, floaty vocal inflection, and memorable, looping guitar riffs. Throughout this balladry, memories file themselves into an index, constructing a personal history of the speaker that enables them to understand the roots of their own perspective. Until the next slope opens, however, we find Baltyk imprisoned at this junction, nostalgic for a time with any movement at all as triumph and tragedy screech to a melancholy halt.