Craig Varian will kick off 2026 with two concurrent albums from his 400 Lonely Things project, both exploring the aftermath of the 2024 U.S. election. Why I Went to the Woods leans into a hauntological and dreamlike ambiance, drawing inspiration from 1960s British countryside aesthetics and psychedelic folk, while emphasizing field recordings and analog sounds. In contrast, Creature Comforts embodies a more visceral and unsettling vibe, described by Varian as "lullabies for the end of a world," shaped by the chaos of the election’s unfolding. Both albums, although thematically distinct, share a deep emotional response to their creation contexts. They will be released on January 9, 2026.
Given the starkly different emotional landscapes presented in these albums, how do you think music can serve as a reflection of societal and political turmoil?
