D4vd’s Withered and the Modern“Situationship”
“You can eat me alive, You can tell me you hate me
You can tell me to walk away, But I don’t think that I can”
“Atomic Land”
D4vd’s first official studio album, Withered marks a huge milestone for this artist who got his start recording music in his sister’s closet on an iPhone. This album is incredible and has been on repeat for me all summer for a number of different reasons, one of them being the imagery used on the album cover that continues off of d4vd’s themes. In 2023, d4vd released Petals to Thorns and The Lost Petals that initially caused his breakthrough into mainstream music. He blends genres seamlessly, pairing angelic vocal riffs with heartfelt lyrics and beats that make you want to dance and cry at the same time.
The cover art showcases a man lying face up in a bed of white roses. His eyes are rolling back in his head as though he is dying, and his chin tilts upward. Around his arms and torso, thin vines spread and constrain him, thorns digging into his skin. The edges of the album cover glow with a soft warm light from the white flowers. The art is a perfect embodiment of the album and its theme.
Above all, I appreciated Withered for d4vd’s ability to capture the essence of a situation that is complex and confusing in a single exceptional album. There are specific situations from certain relationships that I have replayed over and over in my head, and Withered gave me a validation that resolved emotions I didn’t even know I was feeling.
Overall, I would describe the album as magical. D4vd draws on the way that a beautiful passion can become an all-consuming evil with his haunting melodies, angelic vocals, and transcendent riffs. On top of that, the rhythm that threads through all his pieces makes Withered an album you feel throughout your body and not just your throat.
With 15 tracks to choose from, I selected four that really resonated with me and captured what I felt to be the heart of the album.
1. Atomic Land is a perfect opener, playing with the analogy of a minefield to describe a relationship that can result in nothing but disaster, but the writer has entered this land with no intention – or ability – of leaving.
2. Sky opens with an addictive guitar riff, and I appreciated this song the most because of the way that d4vd’s voice conveys the desperation he feels and the all-too-familiar feeling of chaos, collapse, and the world ending when you realize you’re in too deep.
3. Say It Back immediately captured my attention with a delicate piano opener, and the pain in the message of the song was exquisitely painted with d4vd’s hauntingly angelic voice.
4. Where Did You Go resonated with me for its portrayal of the space left behind after the end of a complicated relationship and the painful realization that perhaps what you thought you had was never real. Ultimately, the last lines of this song concisely summarize the central idea of Withered:
“Don’t need you to like my story, text me back
Call my number soundin’ regretful
Say you’re sorry while your voice cracks, ‘cause I know
That you were okay
With walking away”
I call it a situationship. One person cares more than the other, to the point that it hurts them. Some people would label this a toxic relationship. Wrong person, right time. Anxious attachment paired with avoidant attachment. Whatever you choose to call it, an all-consuming and unrequited love is a situation that anyone and everyone can relate to in some facet, and d4vd’s Withered embodies it with a unique musical excellence and lyrical poignance that is unmatched by anything else I have heard.
