CC Mose is the alias of NYC-based singer-songwriter Chris Robbins. He makes a brand of pop melancholia that straddles the line between the contrasting sensibilities of a bedroom auteur and a weathered troubadour. His latest album Beat Me is a collection of songs written during a somewhat transient period in his life between Kansas City, MO and Portland, OR and then polished in Brooklyn. The lead single “West Seattle” is a crunchy, lo-fi rumination on a temporary love. The distortion of the guitar mirrors constant looming end of the fling with other guitar layers and cleverly syncopated drums cutting through to punctuate Robbins’ contemplative lyrics. Here’s what he had to say about the song:

This song just came together all of a sudden. It was written and (mostly) recorded in less than 6 hours one afternoon when I was still living in Portland, OR. It’s a love song about this girl I know in Seattle who I had this crazy Hollywood-style fling with that ultimately amounted to nothing but it was the best and worst thing all at once when it was going on. It was a complicated situation and was a constant rollercoaster. I remember writing this song when I was feeling extra hopeful and happy about everything. I think it was kind of a justification to myself for why I was continuing to stay on this rollercoaster even though I knew it was going to end at some point.

Listen below.

Beat Me is out 8/19 via Plastic Jurassic. Pre-order it here.