New Hope, PA is a picturesque little town tucked away along the Delaware River Valley, objectively beautiful but devoid of any real culture. It was made into a destination more through marketing ingenuity than any real attraction, self-mythologizing itself until it felt vital. Beyond some well-preserved buildings, a scattering of antique shops, and a few late-night haunts, it’s a sleepy town without much to offer. Singer-songwriter Dan Svizeny (formerly Cough Cool) grew up among the artifice and it rubbed off on him in a bad way because he’s pivoted to make sure he became anything but — his new album Every Weekend is heartbreakingly honest, his most personal collection of songs yet. Recorded “all alone, in an empty house, in a quiet town” after moving to New Jersey following a few years in Philadelphia, Svizeny channels his ennui into chilly but hopeful reverb-drenched tracks. On “New Hope Is a Bad Scene,” which he calls “one of the pop songs” on the album, he directly confronts his hometown. “It’s a bad scene that holds a special place in my heart. Everyone should spend a weekend there,” he says. “This song is about realizing how tired a local scene can actually be.” New Hope is focused on maintaining the status quo, only unique compared to the dreary mix of farmland and suburbia that surrounds it. Thankfully, Svizeny found the beauty in the fog and has created something really special. Listen below.

Every Weekend is out 8/19 via Forged Artifacts.