“Love Me Now” uncovers a singer-songwriter unafraid to display the cracks in his facade, crafting a striking portrait of what happens when true love fails to materialize. The beautiful and hypnotic record focuses on Damon K Clark’s hushed voice and simple, soulful lyrics. The music itself is a pastel tapestry woven from the threads of early ’2000s pop and stitched into a unique pattern. It blends vulnerability with heartbreak as Damon describes an all-to-familiar situation which makes him feel alone, but ready to move on.

“Love Me Now” evokes the spiraling crisis of the mind when faced with relationship struggles. Throughout the song, Damon tries to pinpoint the source of his anxieties, investigating his relationship with substance, with his romantic partner, and with himself. He does this with heart-wrenching clarity on the ballad, wondering if everything was genuine. His voice never rises above a murmur as he draws you in, but when he belts out his voice rings with deep emotion.

Ultimately, Damon reaches a cathartic breaking point at the end, with a rattling breakdown filled with bobbing drums and dramatic synth stabs. In the midst of all that, he sings as if he’s the only one listening. He shatters the box that confined him from realizing true happiness, that small, unassuming space—where emotions swell but never burst. Lifting the most effective ideas from different schools of production, he’s able to construct his own mutant strain of pop.

“Love Me Now” is surely immersive, from its sound design to its melody. Damon himself handles the lyrics, music, and arrangement while it’s produced by Brandon Saiz, mixed by Joey Lomas and mastered by Dave McNair. Singing his way through the thoughts of fumbled romance, Damon seems invigorated by abandoning the pursuit, perhaps it’s this liberation that allows him to write a brilliant song. He’s walked a fine line between approaching these self-destructive figures with empathy and pity, which is why this record feels like a long-held exhalation.