d4vd

One Liner:  Downbeat indie that is inexplicably huge on Spotify - the depressing Weeknd

Wikipedia Genre: Alternative, indie, rock, R&B (which is, not correct)

Home: Houston

Poster Position: Level 3 (8) 
Both Weekends.
Friday.

Thoughts:  Well, Spotify decided that the next artist to play after this guy's songs ended should be Cigarettes After Sex, so I think that answers whether or not I like what I'm hearing.  Makes me think of a boring Weeknd.  Also reminded me of that amazingly terrible Travis Barker protege that came to ACL last year - I had sort of enjoyed the studio stuff but his live show was unwatchable.  Can't recall his name now.

So, you just say this guy's name as "David," despite the cute spelling thing.  Real name is David Anthony Burke, and he moved from Queens to Houston when he was young.  He is apparently an e-Sports team member who started making music to add to his e-Sports videos so that he would stop getting copyright takedown notices.  Which is sooooooo weird.  When you hear this stuff, you will be very confused about it soundtracking a Fortnite compilation video.

The top track, with a ridiculously large number of streams, is "Romantic Homicide," with 649 million streams.  Certified Gold in the US and platinum in Australia and Canada.  Apparently a big TikTok hit.

Very downbeat, sad sack stuff.  Confused why the subtitles are in some sort of Asian script - is that where he is super popular for some reason?  His voice is good, but the music itself is never what I'd want to hear for any extended period.  No full albums, just singles and a 2023 EP called Petals to Thorns (that re-features that song above).  Second-most streamed track is another single that is back on the EP - "Here With Me," with 595 million streams.

That weirdly affected guitar tone is so similar to the other one I had to go back and make sure I hadn't just tried to review the same song a second time.  Definitely different, but again this sounds like a depressed Mac Demarco instrumental with this guy singing over the top.  

I literally just stopped what I was doing so that I could bang out the rest of this review.  I can't listen to this guy any more.  It is seriously bumming me out.  I'm sure he will be lovely in the fall for those who are in to this sort of downbeat indie stuff, but it is not for me at all.