After two releases in 2021, the three-song debut Light On EP and the single “Say Something True”, Faint Halos is back with three new songs on Something to Lose.  

Faint Halos was started during the pandemic by veteran Philadelphia-based musician Paul Hashemi, who wrote, produced, and mixed all of the tracks in his home studio. “I’m trying to reinvent ‘dad rock’,” he says with a slight grin. “So many musicians get stuck in their ways, trying to recreate the music of their teens. I’m trying to mix new sounds and approaches with an old-school dedication to real songwriting. Every one of these songs could be sung and played with just a guitar, but the full-band arrangement, the synths, the string quartet, and so forth bring some depth and excitement. I can’t wait to interpret them live, where they’ll evolve some more!” 

The tracks explore identity and the way we see ourselves. The title track weaves a story of a lost love, with atmospheric synth echoes and skittering beats and giving way to pulsing rock drums and guitars, and closing with the haunting lines, “I’m sorry for the way I disappeared from you / I’m sorry that you thought I was still here with you / I’m sorry that I never really knew the truth / Wouldn’t be the truth if I knew”. 

The calmer, prettier “Impostor” builds from a harp-like electric guitar figure, with help from a string quartet, to reflect on the way it feels to not feel like yourself - and wonder who that really is. The closer, “The Papers”, starts with a simple piano line, culminating with soaring guitars and the realization that “I’m right where I wanted to be”. 

The signature style from last year’s records is still there, but with added depth and range - Faint Halos keeps asking the big questions and sometimes finding bigger answers. As anrfactory.com said about FH’s first EP, “Faint Halos makes emotionally-charged music that will have you totally entranced.”