Somber Hills is a Sydney based and New Zealand born artist who is continually impressing with his increasingly polished releases. With only three tracks out in the world, he’s taking his time to introduce himself to listeners within this hip-hop, trap and rock soundscape he’s pulled together from all of these different influences that compile his love for music. Adding a fourth track to his discography, ‘Don’t Need’ is his boldest release to date, and a future hit waiting to be discovered.
Exploring his conflicting feelings of guilt in pursuing music as a career, he details how selfish it feels to pack up and move away to focus on his dream and neglect the other people in his life. Struggling to keep relationships and friendships alive while he’s in another country, he finds the conversations are always pointed towards how hard it is and the struggle the other person is feeling with the distance, which is not what he want for needs to hear. “You always tell me what you don’t need. That’s not what I’m trying to hear” he sings before confessing “you said I’m always sayin’ sorry, and that’s not what you tryna hear”. But he also gives us one of the best lyrics of 2021 with “everyone say the devil wear Prada, but she wear Balenciaga”. BAM. Pure fire.
With a sonic reminiscent of Post Malone, he polishes up the sound that ‘Overdrive’ laid down, and finds the perfect contrast of dark tones and melancholic production. There is a real vulnerable layer to the lyrics and vocal delivery that shines through.
‘Don’t Need’ is a very strong release for Somber Hills as it steers him into mainstream territory with the potential to really break through those commercial US gates. It’s a sound that is very on trend at the moment, but he makes it his own and gives us an insight to his conflicting emotions.