Some artists arrive quietly, others crash through the door and leave a dent. Seattle-based Sybilanta, the digital-meets-human creation of Dan Fortier, belongs firmly in the latter camp. The project’s debut concept album, Falling to You, is billed as a collision between alt rock, grunge, and AI-assisted creation — but those words only tell half the story. The other half lives in the noise, the cracks, and the uncomfortable truths buried in every lyric.
Fortier isn’t trying to make pretty music. He’s trying to make honest music — the kind that smells like old beer and regret, the kind that laughs while bleeding. The songs you can already hear — “Acid Rain,” “Drown,” and “Cold Shoulder” — sound like confessions from a machine that’s just learned heartbreak. They’re rough, sharp-edged, and weirdly vulnerable, all at once.
“Acid Rain” sets the tone with a kind of gritty melancholy that could’ve rolled out of a damp basement in 1994. There’s that unmistakable post-grunge DNA — sludgy guitars, half-spoken vocals, and an emotional weight that’s equal parts sarcasm and sincerity. The lyrics are fantastic — twisted little snapshots of decay and beauty: “Mascara in the filter drain / A doll in love with the acid rain.” It’s self-aware, like someone documenting their own breakdown but still keeping the camera steady. There’s a sweetness under the grime too, telling us that even pain can sound melodic when it’s this personal.
If “Acid Rain” aches, then “Drown” explodes. It starts off deceptively calm — almost gentle — and then descends into something primal and furious. There’s a cinematic quality to it, the way the quiet gives way to chaos. By the time Fortier snarls “DROWN! DROWN! AND F***ING STAY DOWN!”, the track becomes an exorcism — a love song that’s been stripped of all illusion and left to rot in saltwater. It’s violent, yes, but not for shock value. It’s the sound of someone purging betrayal, clinging to dark humor just to stay sane. You can feel the Seattle rain dripping through it — not just weather, but mood.
“Cold Shoulder” carries that energy into something more immediate and punk-laced. It’s sneering, loud, and completely unfiltered — a bar fight set to a backbeat. The writing is darkly funny and satisfyingly mean: “If you only knew what was good for you / You’d scram right now before you get the mace / Not the spray — f***ing metal.” You can hear a smirk behind every punch. It’s a perfect closer for this trio — all swagger and self-defense, ending with a defiant middle finger.
What ties these tracks together isn’t genre polish or big studio production — it’s intent. Each song feels hand-built from emotion rather than perfection. There’s distortion where other artists would’ve cleaned up the mix, and hesitation in places that make the performance feel human. That’s the beauty here — it’s raw to the point of being confrontational, but never insincere.
It’s also commendable how Fortier weaves in the presence of Sybilanta, his AI collaborator. On paper, that might sound like a gimmick — but it’s not. There’s something poetic about using a digital partner to make music that feels this human. It’s like watching technology learn to hurt. Rather than hiding behind the artificial element, Fortier leans into it, using it as a mirror to reflect what’s real — anger, confusion, heartbreak, and humor all tangled together.
The three tracks available from Falling to You already show an artist exploring contradiction – soft but jagged, vulnerable but caustic, human but digital. That’s what gives the songs their bite.
The perspective also makes Sybilanta intriguing. Fortier comes at music from the outside in, approaching it as a writer and conceptual storyteller first. You can hear it in his lyrics — they’re narrative, loaded with imagery, often funny in the most tragic way. His lines sound like short stories caught in the middle of a nervous breakdown. That combination of narrative sharpness and experimental production gives the project a pulse that feels uniquely its own.
There’s a sense that this is only the beginning. If these three songs are any indication, the full album Falling to You is a record about contradictions — about falling apart beautifully, laughing at the wreckage, and maybe finding something meaningful in the mess. Until then, this early taste of Sybilanta’s work is more than enough to spark curiosity. It’s unfiltered, abrasive, and strangely addictive — like a half-healed bruise you keep pressing just to remember it’s real.
Stream Falling to You now on major streaming platforms. This one’s worth falling into.
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