Drawing upon his personal experience, Toronto-based indie singer-songwriter Cal Trask (a.k.a. Calvin Heinrichs) delivers a haunting and touching musical elegy to being suddenly ghosted in a relationship in his new single, "False Hope." "I have seen a ghost in my lover's clothes" is the poignant and melancholic opening line to this deliberate and captivating new song from this self-described 'sad boy singing sad songs.'
Written in early 2018, but not included on his impressive debut album, Gemini God, Calvin reflects back on the origins of the track. He relates, "After my partner suddenly stopped responding to my messages and stopped taking my calls, I was left sitting in silence. Wondering what went wrong. Trying to cope with the feelings of loneliness and worthlessness and most importantly trying to come to grips with the reality that they will never be coming home."
A bit of a departure from Cal's prior sound, "False Hope" presents an edgier, reverb-heavy vibe with prominent percussion and beats, and a lo-fi hall effect on Cal's expressive vocals that all elegantly comes together in this entrancing new song. The sample of a dial tone of an outgoing phone call in the chorus is clever and provides an unspoken reference to repeatedly holding onto false hope for a response. Incidentally, "False Hope" is a great song to take in on headphones, with its depth of sound and spacious atmosphere.
Moving on after being ghosted and letting go of the associated false hope can be difficult for many. Calvin comments, "It's all too common that people are ghosted in today's society. I think to some extent we have all faced these feelings at some point. Not only have we faced those feelings, but in some shape or form we all struggle with moving on. Whether it's a bad breakup or a situation we regret, we have trouble with letting go. Holding on to those feelings of hope are seldom healthy, yet we do it anyways."
For more Cal Trask, be sure to check out his stunning debut album, Gemini God, visit his official website, follow on social media (Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, YouTube) and listen on Spotify, SoundCloud and Apple Music.