Hēran Soun - “When You Wanted”

SXSW 2022 - OEB Score: 7; Popularity Index: 2

Pairs Well With…Radiohead, slenderbodies, Low

Oakland artist Hēran Soun released his debut full-length Undeaf in 2022, a spaced exploration of minimal pop and trip hop forms. Patient and resonating, Hēran Soun’s songwriting is full of building drama, melancholy at times and exploding with sound and passion at others. Softened electro pop production and slow piano melodies take the lead on Undeaf, paced like a single, long piece with a consistently somber tone throughout. Hēran Soun has since followed up Undeaf with the Sad Songs Sadder EP, a collection of new wave and indie rock covers that do exactly what it says, slowing down the pace and upping the delicacy of each of these already heartbreaking tracks. (Kevin McStravick)

2020 Review: Chilly and experimental alt-rock artist Hēran Soun has shared three-song EP Cambridge and follow-up single “A Lover Waits” so far, four songs all steeped in a mysterious trip-hop/folk/rock hybrid sound. Echoes of electric and acoustic guitars and synth-waves set a heady, ambient table for Hēran Soun’s saddened, dynamic croon, an instrument at moves in unexpected jumps of melody with a minor, cinematic flair. Coming down to Texas for SXSW from Portland, Maine, Hēran Soun’s captures a wintery, wooded sound with a delicate touch, an artist that will demand a quiet stage for his intricate, complex performance.