u kno what it is
Adore, 1996
Daniel Johann
In 2013, a New Zealand teenager named Daniel Johann Lines quietly uploaded his debut album, melanchole, to Bandcamp under the moniker salvia palth. The LP was a homespun collection full of vulnerable, self-recorded songs about the overwhelming messiness that comes from growing up and figuring out who you are. Despite modest intentions, the record resonated profoundly with millions on platforms like Tumblr and Youtube, maintaining momentum through the TikTok and streaming era. menchole remains a wildly influential lofi release, a moving portrait of youth in turmoil. Over a decade later, Lines returns to the project with a new full-length titled “last chance to see”. Out February 16 via Danger Collective Records, the now 27-year-old musician offers his most fully formed and ambitious effort yet. last chance to see is not only a complete artistic reinvention but one that gracefully closes the chapter on a formative period of the songwriter’s life. His decision to revisit the salvia palth moniker is intentional and integral to the album. “These songs thematically tie in with what people who are still listening to the first album might need to hear: young people who struggle to make meaningful relationships,” he says. “With melanchole, there's no real closure, and there's no real path forward. You're stuck with this stunted teenage philosophy of vague nihilism that I'm trying to replace with a more constructive philosophy.” last chance to see offers a chance to start fresh, to showcase his evolution as a songwriter since 2012, and his emotional growth as a person. The songs here also serve as a roadmap for anyone curious about DIY music and self-recording: besides drum tracks performed by Samuel Austin, everything on the LP was performed, mixed, and recorded by Lines. As sung on closer “still i struggle,” “I’m here to say there’s nothing to it / it’s nothing special, anyone could do it / but still I struggle just to get through it.” As the songs on his debut found new life o