Shya Grapples With Self-Doubt And Comes Out On Top With Trying

There's a ton of great music coming out of Ohio's Oberlin College (see: Swings, Littler). The most recent example of this is Shya—a project fronted by Nate Sher—who will release a full-length album titled Trying on March 25.

Sher describes Trying as having "a meme-worthy degree of self-awareness, in that a lot of the songs are about trying to stop the cycle of playing acoustic guitar in a bedroom, wallowing, and instead try bringing something to the world—that is, the songs themselves." However, he added, this self-awareness is at times "complicated by self-doubt and/or just plain giving up." For example, on "Watermelon Sourpatch" he sings, Where does it go when it all disappears?/ I think it comes back/ forever oscillating/ I hope it comes back...Like everything else/ it's fleeting as hell.

The beautiful thing about this album is that the ephemeral nature of Sher's musings seem to have been captured in a pure state before being developed into solid, dynamic songs. Like on "Anxious," in which Sher goes through his worries: I'm so anxious and I don't know why, I'm so lonely and I think I know why, I am scared and insecure, I have given up on god, I'm alone. They're uneasy thoughts we all have, only set to a tune that exudes empathy and hopefulness.

"Alone On The Beach," might be my favorite. Not only is it catchy as hell, it seems to me like an anthem for acknowledging loneliness and the need for human connection—Can you tell me I'm alright, Sher pleads on the song's chorus, can you help me get a life? And then he doubts himself some more, Nothing's been working/ so why do I try?/ is anything worth it?/ Should I just get high? Well, Nate Sher AKA Shya, it seems that the things you are doing are definitely working. Let's all get high and worry together.

Stream Trying below and and preorder it from DZ Tapes here.