Ballad of a Tryhard

Toronto artist Scott Hardwares output grew from house- and techno-informed atmospheric pop to the dreamlike cityscapes of 2020s Engel. Third album Ballad of a Tryhard expands Hardwares cinematic vision with new layers of sound, upping the rhythmic elements that surfaced only part of the time on Engel and adding orchestral flourishes. While all of Hardwares work up to this point conveyed a unique intimacy, those sentiments feel clearer and more up-front throughout Tryhard. A newfound focus on guitars and more traditional pop structures gives the songs a sense of familiarity, sometimes calling to mind radio rock hits of the early 2000s. "Love Through the Trees" is built of crunchy Britpop guitar tones that blast overtop a bedding of subtle electronics and strings. "Watersnake" pushes this stylistic exercise even further, with an insistent wood block pulse blinking throughout the song as Hardwares wistful vocal melodies weave between moody verses and emphatic choruses. Where Engel and material before it had a decidedly nocturnal feel, Tryhard feels bright, summery, and optimistic, still centered around self-reflection but trading in bittersweet tones for songs that sometimes border on chipper. "Sing Like That" is crammed with sunshiny melodies, gleeful background vocals, and a stacked instrumentation of synths, mellow guitars, piano, and excitable string parts. Hardware strips away both the muted melancholy and purposeful obscurity of older work as well, with defined vocal lines high in the mix and unhidden by reverb. "Summer" perfectly encapsulates the approach he takes throughout the album, with a maxed-out arrangement that never feels too busy, but still reveals new details at every turn. Ballad of a Tryhard is an exciting chapter in Hardwares development, one that finds him playing with more conventional approaches without sacrificing any of his insularity. The album is warmer, friendlier, and fuller than anything Hardware has presented before, yet somehow just as emotionally naked. ~ Fred Thomas