Kauf Works Through Love and Loss via Lo-Fi Synth-Pop on “Limestone”

L.A. singer/songwriter Kauf’s lo-fi alt-folk voice is young but weathered, and well-suited to whispering introspective and melancholy lyrics—like “Were you fooled from above? What’s it gonna take to know?” from “Limestone,” the fifth single from his latest album, Regrowth.

“The chorus comes from something my boyfriend and I have proudly said to other people—that ‘we never fight,’ which is true. We don’t yell or get into big, heated arguments. But that’s definitely not the only sign of problems in a relationship,” Kauf says about “Limestone.” “In this case, it was a lack of communication about things under the surface that slowly built up over a long period of time. And the song is about that claustrophobic feeling when you’re in the same space with someone physically, but don’t feel you can really connect—whether it’s caused by events that happened within the relationship or other things in your history.”

The song’s slow tempo, washed-out reverb, sparse and pulsing bass, peek-a-boo bleeps and bloops, and rattling hi-hats overlap into a gauzy art-rock grandiosity befitting a self-taught multi-instrumentalist who previously helmed an indie rock band.

So, what’s it doing on Insomniac? The combined effect of Kauf’s voice, words, arrangements, and production are similar to the esoteric pop of funky balladeers like the xx, Junior Boys, Neon Indian, Chromatics, and Jamie Lidell, and his sound easily lends itself to slow-mo disco remixes by the likes of Psychemagik and Fort Romeau. It’s exactly what we want to hear when we wander into a chill-out room or feel like skipping the club altogether, without straying too far from the beats.

If you’re in the Los Angeles area, set aside some time on October 10 to hit up the Kauf record release party at the Echo.

Available September 8.

Preorder Kauf’s Regrowth LP here.

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