In the first single off their forthcoming album, the Brooklyn purveyor of “Quietly ferocious” alt-folk explores loneliness, forgiveness and that “how did we end up here?” feeling

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When so much of our lives is consumed by perceiving—on screen, via scroll—it’s easy to feel like a mere audience member on this earth.

Between the outsized glitz, glamour, horrors and heartbreaks that populate our timelines and headlines—events starring and atrocities committed by a small and focused few—it’s natural to feel small, purposeless, powerless… to forget that our own lives hold meaning and magic.

But art can be an antidote, and Brooklyn artist Peter Stone‘s goal as an artist is to remind us of our spiritual relevance. They believe that everyone has a story worth telling, and in music as a tool for mythologizing our own lives. That songs can serve as inspiration to live vulnerably rather than vicariously… to go out and really engage with the world.

One way to do this is by finding the magic in our mundane. To take the idea of, say, a loveseat… and weave it into a work exploring the beautiful ache of the human experience.

And with that, I give you Peter Stone’s newest song, “Loveseat.”

keep a thread of me in the fabric on / that cheap love seat that you found in like 2003 / green not vibrantly but a sickly hue /I’d never choose to complete a line so ugly

As a song, “Loveseat” is a tender offering, one that exemplifies Peter’s perfectly coined “quietly ferocious alt-folk” style—a sonic space that, after years of playing with garage-rock band The Rare Occasions, the artist has now found the perfect home within.

Of the song, Peter shares:

“Loveseat is about what you carry forward with you as you leave the past behind. It’s about that feeling of ‘how did we end up here?’. It’s about an alienation and a feeling of being lost and alone that saps at my bones. It’s about wanting deep and true and enduring love. Loveseat’s about trying and failing, and the ways that we try to make up for our shortcomings. It’s about forgiveness and moving on and accepting where we’re at, cherishing it even. Making the hand we’re dealt into something beautiful and lasting and worthwhile.”

“Loveseat” is the first single off Peter’s forthcoming album Hearth, and the themes above reflect the life circumstances under which the record was written—a period of “upheaval but also romanticism and beauty.” An era that saw Peter leave their home in Denver to live nomadically, skipping across six cities in Europe and in the US. A time that also saw them meet and fall in love with their fiancée. Then eventually settle and start a new life here in NYC.

In other words: an everyday individual’s real adventures. Stories worth exploring, expressing and—finally—sharing through song.

A DIY effort and solo record in every sense of the word, Peter not only produced their upcoming album, but played every instrument that appears on it and recorded it entirely in their home studio. Rather than working in a musically mechanical matter, Peter’s ethos — inspired by Phil Weinrobe and Adrianne Lenker — was to let the songs be the songs. And to be in service to them. To accept inspiration, follow the song’s spirit and embrace spontaneity with the goal of capturing, in the moment, for the album, a true and present performance.

Hearth is out November 13th.

New York shows to be announced! In the meantime, plan to hit the road and catch Peter on November 12th at Nostalgia Fishtown in Philly and December 11th in Harrisburg at 717 Arts Center.

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Follow Peter at @peterstonemusic, grab music on bandcamp and add the songs to your Spotify playlists now! Find all things Peter Stone at peterstonemusic.com.

Feature image provided by the artist.