Five artists, one album

Panoramic and accomplished producer Ryan Hemsworth, along with five separate artists, released their album Quarter-Life Crisis under the group name Quarter-Life Crisis. Ryan Hemsworth assembled artists who had their start at shows on the outs and produced with different musical styles and designed a collection that shifts and transforms in response to each artist. The album spotlights appearances from Frances Quinlan, Meg Duffy, Charlie Martin, Yohuna and Claud.

A collaboration with Charlie Martin of Hovvdy begins the collection with the song “Waterfall.” This steady guitar-driven piece explores the difficulty that Martin feels in being understood and understanding others, his frustration-laced lyrics, “We could take your fall/ Never ever come home/ Don’t know where you go/ Say you’re never far,” painting a picture of confusion between himself and another force, a painting of running around in circles and never reaching a conclusion.

“Comfortable” featuring Meg Duffy of Hand Habits follows, presenting a dreamy sequence of synths layered with misty vocals. “Postcard from Spain” with Frances Quinlan of Hop Along diverges from Hemsworth’s initial creation and allows Quinlan’s flare to take over, the talented guitarist’s breezy vocals and melodic storytelling dominating the piece.

“You and Me” featuring Claud enters, devoid of synths, allowing the youthful voice of the artist blending with an acoustic guitar to bring a handcrafted break in the collection. “Fatigue” responds to this break, taking the shape of a guitar-focused piece with gentle speaking and singing taking backstage to the guitar, soft allusions to synths dancing around the tune. “Stars” concludes the album with a farewell lullaby that feels homemade, a calming tune featuring gentle sounds of picking up a guitar and moving musical equipment left on it to paint the tune with a raw theme. 

Each artist that Ryan Hemsworth worked with to create Quarter-Life Crisis took the original music he wrote for them and turned it into something distinct to them. The artist palette that Hemsworth chose succeeded both individually and in the entirety of the collection. Quarter-Life Crisis is without a dull moment, each piece with its own brilliant personality coming together like a family.