SINGLE REVIEW: idkwntht by Tomberlin
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WRITTEN BY: Aaron Scofield
PHOTO BY: Michelle Yoon
Sarah Beth Tomberlin isn’t sure who needs to hear it, but on January 25th she released her first new piece of music in over two years. After finding recent success with her 2020 EP, Projections, and coming off tours supporting musicians like Soccer Mommy, Andy Shauf, and Alex G, Tomberlin undoubtedly appears to be coming into her own.
The single’s acronymic title, “idkwntht” (I don’t know who needs to hear this) introduces a steady, methodical call and response featuring backing vocals by Told Slant’s Felix Walworth and mellow saxophone passages by Stuart Bogie. Throughout the track, Tomberlin repeats two lines in a clear act of catharsis that could easily serve as an opening or closing track on her anticipated sophomore album:
“I don’t know who needs to hear this
Sometimes it’s good to sing your feelings”
Following her own advice administered in the call and response chorus, Tomberlin sings her feelings in the verse, reflecting on a past relationship and what she learned from it:
“But here is one thing that I am learning
Everyone’s heart burns for something
And really what I wanted to be
Was everything you weren’t for me?”
It is this demonstration of stark honesty from Tomberlin that seamlessly transforms the single from a sing-along into an elegy, and it is where she as an artist is able to shine the most. Moments like these are scattered across her first album, At Weddings, and listeners can only hope that there are more to be heard in her awaited sophomore LP.
Referencing the track, Tomberlin states that the song is a “sonic altar of sorts. It’s about taking a moment for remembrance, clarity, and setting an intention of what is to come… Holding onto feelings, words, and past versions of ourselves and our behavior only helps when we can examine experiences once we are outside of them. Then we have to let it out, let it go, and try again.”
“idkwntht” is out now via Saddle Creek Records and is available on all streaming platforms. Tomberlin’s second LP is expected later this year.
