Billy Libby is a Portland-born musician that’s spent the better part of the last decade trying to find an identity of his own as an artist. The two records he’s released under his own name (2010’s The Little Bird and 2011’s Pitter Patter) saw Libby focusing his energy on the kind smokey folk-music born from a coastal North Eastern upbringing. In this work, you can hear hints of the faint crash of the tide against the shore and the peace that’s found in the serenity found in the quiet of the year’s first snow. He’s shared the stage with the likes of My Morning Jacket and Ingrid Michaelson and has allowed those experiences to bleed into a new approach to songwriting. This new approach was met with a new sound; Libby was creating a kind of lush pop music that begged for a name larger than his own, something that lent itself to the kind of collaborative process that he’s found a new home in — allow me to introduce you to his newest identity, Fort Gorgeous.
“Patterns” is a marvelous introduction to Fort Gorgeous as a concept; the prowess and pristine production of the track lend themselves to Libby’s intricate and hook-laden style of songwriting in a way that feels effortless. The track dances around the idea of a cyclical life; things are constantly changing but they are, somehow, always the same. “Patterns” opens with Libby’s dreamy voice floating above the captivating and dewy synth, crooning lyrics like “These shifting patterns/these changing shapes/Will I bend the rules and freeze them in place?“, bleeding into the tracks most resonant line: “I wanna live in the city, but die in a small town.” When you’re young, you want the adventure and excitement of city life because if something’s always going on, you’ll never feel stagnant. As you grow, you’ll find yourself longing for the simpler things. You want a life with substance, people you can rely on, and a quiet place to lay your head. The things you may have grown to loathe as you yearned for that excitement tend to be the things you want the most once the dust has finally settled.
This is the first single to come from Fort Gorgeous’ stunning debut The Bottom Of The Sea and it’s an open door that’s begging you to journey further into the depths of what they have to offer.
You can hear “Patterns” below.
The Bottom Of The Sea is out May 6th and can be pre-ordered here.