The Art of Attraction: A Debut Album Written with Yourself
The Art of Attraction feels less like a band’s debut and more like the record of a long, introspective writing process. Its foundations were laid even before the group’s current lineup was complete, gradually taking shape through friendship, collaborative creation, and a personal writing routine.
The album’s journey begins with “Saboteur” and “Lying to Myself”, co-written with Jordan and Sam from Killakoi. At the time, Jakob wasn’t yet part of the band, though the members had been close friends since Rock U in Concord. Jakob was invited to record drums for “Saboteur”, and his performance formed the core that would later support the rest of the album.
A few months later, “Neurotic Stranger” was written — a track that took over a year to fully come together, but ultimately set the direction for the album. From that point onward, the recording process began to accelerate.
The Writing Process: Routine, Space, and Control
Most of the album was written and recorded in a home environment. The majority of the guitar and bass parts were tracked and edited by Ayden in a bedroom. Some vocals were recorded at home, while others were recorded at Pangea Studios with Jordan and Sam. The instrumental and vocal editing process was almost entirely handled by Ayden and Vincent, reinforcing the album’s self-made nature.
A symbolic detail of the writing process was a candle. Whenever Vincent wrote for the album, he lit an Evening Luxe Trilogy Wood Wick candle gifted to him by his good buddy Andrew. Its scent became a major source of inspiration and shaped nearly the entire album. Every track except “Saboteur” and “Lying to Myself” was written and recorded with that candle lit. Nothing about the process felt forced; the songs emerged naturally, often following a period of writer’s block.
Emotional Intensity and Recording Moments
Certain tracks, especially “Georgia Queen” and “Feel”, occupy deeply personal spaces for Vincent. During vocal recordings, the rest of the band left the room, creating an atmosphere closer to confession than performance. In “Georgia Queen”, moments where Vincent’s voice chokes up remain in the final recording. These moments were not a deliberate aesthetic choice, but a decision to preserve the emotion exactly as it existed in that moment.
Album Title and Visual Language
The title The Art of Attraction emerged early in the writing process while working on “Saboteur” and was added to Vincent’s notes sometime in 2023. The album cover, featuring an astronaut and a piano, was found on a website while Vincent was working on a personal art project for a client, and it immediately resonated. After nearly four months of work in Photoshop, the image reached its final form.
Neither the album title nor the band’s name appears on the cover. The image stands alone, carrying the meaning of the record by itself.
The cover represents Vincent’s mental state while writing much of the album alone: isolated, raw, exposed, and fully immersed in emotion. Across its twelve tracks, the album unfolds like an internal diary, reflecting on past relationships with girlfriends, friends, and himself.
Thematic Frame: Relationships and Observation
Shortly after the album’s release, lead singer Vincent visited the jazz club Moon Room in Raleigh with a friend. While watching the room — couples dancing, talking, sitting in silence — the album’s meaning became clear. Observing how people interact, connect, and gravitate toward one another revealed the quiet beauty at the center of the record.
Reading the album solely through its songs would feel incomplete. In a video interview conducted by IndieBird Studio, the band reflects on the writing process behind The Art of Attraction, its emotional backbone, and what these recordings came to mean for them in their own words. Rather than expanding the album’s world, the conversation clarifies and grounds the emotions already present within it.
Conclusion
The Art of Attraction feels less like a high-production debut and more like a carefully held emotional outpouring. The intimacy of home recordings, deliberate technical restraint, and deeply personal writing process give the album its weight.
It draws strength not from embellishing emotion, but from revealing how it was created. Perhaps that is why the connection it forms with the listener needs so little explanation.
