Horse around, nonetheless you cannot take your eyes off Shane Michael Boose’s superb engaging spin off the hamster wheel; that has seen the 20-year-old New York City-native, put in a “more naked” vibrato shift to secure at “arm’s length” residence, on the uppermost floors of the musical premises — right under the custodians’ noses.
More the same, poke your nose in the unruly strawberry stretch of the wake of a tonal pattern disciple-cum-artist from a particularly clairvoyant effigy; and find yourself — besides being nowhere far from an emotional patch up with an “okay” on top — correspondingly, harmoniously nowhere near the huff as well as puff sponging the “Big Apple’s puckering brow!
Using Sombr as a moniker not too much of a chase; visibly — without a catastrophic or diabolical duck out — fathers, mothers, sons, and daughters have become hug targets; expressly after the buzzing première — via Warner Records — of the decidedly foreseen album, by the American singer-songwriter as well as record producer, christened: I Barely Know Her.
A melodic zing of a chap with a much bigger fish to fry; Sombr fits everything on the list to be an Indie Rock, Alternative Rock, Pop Rock, Dance-Rock, and Alt-Pop — living fortunately — chortling ace! The — looking handsome certain — award-winning artist, raised on the Lower East Side; unloosened his debut sculpt of triads — a pulsing mammon of purr containing 10 “of pipes, hooks, loops, as well as kicks” tour de force swinging strands — slightly over three weeks after the month of August procured shrewdness at broad daylight.
Settling in — the likes of American colossal artists: vocalist, composer, musician and actor Prince Rogers Nelson, soloist-librettist as well as musician Billie Eilish Pirate Baird O’Connell, rock band The Velvet Underground, musician Jeffrey Scott Buckley, Brian Douglas Wilson a record producer, songster-lyricist and musician, as well as British singer, songsmith and pianist: Sir Elton Hercules John; all stick out as big as they could be, to tinkle Sombr’s fancies!
Having — in full swing — gotten in the wind with the magnum opus “cook up” in his bedroom, while studying classical euphony as a student at the prestigious public school, LaGuardia High School; leading to his “happy chance” — the then to turn 17, 16 year old — Sombr shaded his debut number so-called Nothing Left to Say, in 2021.
After popping out his breakout anthem Caroline (2022) — which took the internet by storm; as luck would have it, in the neck of the 12-month time period of 2023, the consonance aria reaper — inked a global deal with Warner Records. Thereupon, dropping a foal in the form of a berceuse named Weak; his first birdcall with the record label.
Further proof, towards the fall of the last third of the latter year; Sombr, who also derives inspiration from English god almighty artists — namely rock bands: The Rolling Stones, Oasis, as well as Radiohead, David Bowie known off-stage as David Robert Jones: a vocalist, songwriter and actor, as well as John Winston Ono Lennon: a musician and activist — hatched his first extended play (EP) known as In Another Life.
- Sombr’s psalms are ‘ticking on’ real crispy!
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The sonic oeuvre was co-produced by Anthony Rains “Tony” Berg — an American musician, record producer as well as A&R representative — quick to catch the prey with strokes of genius on giant joints by true lilt masters at stake; American singer-librettist Phoebe Lucille Bridgers, as well as The Replacements an American rock band.
Stretching by the hand, besides harvesting over 50 million monthly listeners — when the blades in Sombr’s tempi blasts: Back to Friends, ‘Would’ve Been You, Undressed, and Do I Ever Cross Your Mind — snapped; they set off an — above 400 million monthly streams — catapult on Spotify: a Swedish audio streaming as well as media service provider.
Passion playing, in our day — the now based in Los Angeles spring-flowering songster’s spick-and-span 10-track drudgery of arpeggios features Billboard Hot 100 thumping canons Back to Friends, Undressed, as well as 12 to 12. The latter, a smash number breathed into life convoyed by daft illustrations; would bear witness to the roping in of Addison Rae Easterling: an American social media personality, singer, and actress, who — similarly to “red-hot skylines imaging” — dons the small screens with a super colossal amazing aura.
A slightest spark with a series amount of bang; Back to Friends, Undressed, as well as 12 to 12 — outweighed bigger threats to ascent the Top 40 Radio, Global and US Spotify, as well as the UK Official Singles Charts. From peaking on the top spot — faster than any up-to-the-minute artist of the last decade — on Alternative Radio, to knocking Irish musician Hozier off the summit after a year on Billboard Hot Rock Songs; Sombr is wriggling out of tight gaps!
A price worth paying; Crushing, I Wish I Knew How to Quit You, Canal Street, Dime, Come Closer, We Never Dated, and Under the Mat — make up a part of the above all else ditty list, taking the lion’s share in this dewy behind the ears body of blues termed: I Barely Know Her.
The virgin studio donut craft was — cool, calm as well as collected — written entirely by Sombr.
His composing — often than not — deals with heartbreak, unrequited love, and emotional introspection.
Spiralling, he draws inspiration from romantic films such as The Notebook — a 2004 American romantic drama flick directed by Nick Cassavetes, as well as ‘Call Me By Your Name’ — a 2017 coming-of-age romantic drama movie directed by Luca Guadagnino. While the former is from a screenplay by Jeremy Leven and Jan Sardi, based on the 1996 novel of the same title by Nicholas Sparks; the latter is from a screenplay by James Ivory, based on the 2007 novel by André Aciman.
Such a valuable contribution, the expected to be a “beast of a toil of lullabies” offering; was co-produced by Sombr, alongside esteemed, legendary producer Tony Berg — who does it brilliantly! What is more, the success of the monster ballads ‘Back to Friends’ as well as ‘Undressed’ earned the former artist three 2025 MTV Video Music Awards nominations in the “Best New Artist”, “Song of Summer”, and “Best Alternative Video” — categories.
Sombr pranced away with the gong in the latter taxonomy for the magnetic means of telling through motion-picture photography to the banger — ‘Back to Friends’. Captured with haunting strictness as well as kickshaw, it would have been only with miniature room to even instigate resisting the high quality of the production of the — “it just felt like magic to be prized” — graphic to the last alluded to jam.
What is the next catch? The raw emotion and jubilation that took over the frenetic assemblage; when the soloist, songsmith as well as record producer performed live — at the coveted awards, on September 7. To classify the “remedial impromptu” chaos; Sombr popped over fireworks!
Intensity with strength of a 1,000 elephants — cushioning something highly unusual to happen; having gotten afoot last May in Dublin — are sold-out tours, scheduled to culminate next March. Thinking of those kind of situations — rivalry rooted in tunes; noisier atmospheres —fascinated by Sombr — are lingering in the air in North America and Europe.
Having perfect weight on his thrust; assured connoisseurs’ presence will still bank up as well as knock on the doors of high tempo deliveries. Albeit, every now and then, entertainers have to deal with sudden cascades of distractions — that build up during passages of plays; in a New York minute — with sustained killer blows — Sombr shall rule Australia as well as New Zealand: in a non-too-flimsy manner!
*Grant Notho Khumalo (formerly Grant Moyo) is a prolific writer, innovative media personality, entrepreneur and a creative artist who is passionate about using his creative mind for the betterment of society. Follow him on X: @TotemGrant
