Truuman is a musical artist hailing from Sherman Oaks, California. Passionate about music for as long as he can remember, his personal performance journey started at the mere age of ten. From the iconic balladry of Elton John to the emotive trap of Lil Peep, his musical influences span a diverse array of genres. This wide-ranging inspiration contributes to his versatility and ability to blend genres, which stand out as some of his most distinctive qualities.
Time To Leave is Truuman's first EP project released to streaming services, but his earlier published work can be found on different platforms. His 2021 track "Elevate" garnered over 25k combined streams on YouTube and Soundcloud, and his earlier music was more closely classified in the hip-hop and rap genres. Time To Leave is a seven-track EP that takes a step back from his earlier musical style and expands on his artistic versatility. While Truuman had a hand in all of the songs written and recorded, the project was also worked on heavily by Aidan Petersen (credited in production as Parcival), a longtime friend of Truuman.
"Sound of Your Smile" is the first track on the EP, and its musical composition is as powerful as its lyricism. His beautiful blend of orchestral music and electronic techniques sets the tone for this project, highlighting the various avenues of Truuman's musical style and his unique ability to seamlessly blend old and new sounds.
"It's the sound of your smile, it's the taste of your breath."
The lyrics dive into descriptive visuals, depicting how dependence on a partner can be toxic for both parties in a relationship. In the first part of the song, he describes how his partner is growing weary and tired of having to put him back together, resulting in eventually breaking up the relationship. Truuman laments about remembering the taste of his partner's breath, hoping to hear the words ,"I miss you," just one more time. The lyrics are haunting and relatable, starting this project off with a bang.
"Drugs Ain't Working" takes me back to an early 2000s pop-rock sound, which works seamlessly with Truuman's vocals. His falsetto particularly shines throughout this track. The chorus features a grunge guitar riff in the beginning that builds itself up with adlibs and drum beats, rendering the song naturally catchy while its lyricism delves into more serious topics of substance use. The bridge and chorus are lyrically and compositionally the strongest and catchiest points of this song.
"I gave my all you let me fall and that's your burden."
"How Does it Feel" strips back on instrumentals to allow powerful lyricism to shine through. Adorned with a simple guitar line, Truuman dives into the complex emotions of loneliness and emptiness through his lyricism. The chorus ends with, "How does it feel? It feels so-," cutting off before a concrete answer is given, and making a powerful statement on the confusion and misunderstandings one can have when dealing with a heartbreak.
"How does it feel? It feels so-"
"Wipe Them Tears Off" starts as an experimental filtered intro and transitions into a jazzy smooth instrumental, incorporating elements of rock, electronic, and R&B throughout the track. The most notable decision composition-wise is the continual switch-up of drum beats, providing a unique variety that sets this apart from just a basic backing track and making it my favorite instrumental on the project. This musical style pairs extremely well with Truuman's vocal timbre, allowing him to show off his skills organically. The outro in particular is very sweet, interweaving electronic guitar riffs with slow and sweet ballad piano.
"Swear upon each other that we'll never leave."
As for the content of the song, "Wipe Them Tears Off" tells the timeless story of wanting to work through things with a partner. Throughout the chorus, Truuman asks them to wipe their tears off for him, hoping that they can both put their heads together and try to make things work.
"Silence Interlude" lets Truuman's vocals stand for themself, which emphasizes his unique and satisfying vocal tone: A ballad-style piano is essentially the only instrument in this song, so his melody line and harmonies can carry the weight of this song, paralleling nicely with the song's message.
"So just listen... listen to the silence."
The repeated motif of the line "listen" over and over is a relatable feeling for anyone who has ever been in a relationship that struggles with communication. Truuman details sleepless nights and heartbreak over the fall of this relationship, and how he feels like he can't get through to anyone.
"4 Years Ago" gets better and better the deeper into the song you get, and is my personal favorite on the EP. The track picks up around 30 seconds, slowly building its instrumentals through unique piano chords, saxophone, and percussive elements that signature the songs on this project. The inclusion of filtered vocals and ad-libs makes the song's composition feel full and robust. This song sonically feels like a more refined and impressive version of the hip-hop and R&B style found in his earlier work, which demonstrates both his mastery of his old style and his growth as an artist.
"I know we both are getting old, but a soul never dies."
"Time to Leave" is the perfect song to conclude this project. Not only is it the title track, but references to the other tracks on this project can be found in this song. The use of choral elements in both the beginning and the end of "Time to Leave" set the tone of this track. On top of this, the instrumentals are reminiscent of tracks like "Fine Line" and "Lights Up" by Harry Styles, which are some of my all-time favorite songs.
"I know that we thought we were done, but that's just a symptom of addiction."
Lyrically, the song creates a clear picture of just how hard it is to part ways with someone in whom you've invested so deeply emotionally. The lyric, "You said you will stay with me, but now's my time to leave," is particularly harrowing. Throughout this entire EP, themes of heartbreak, love, and loss intertwine, culminating in this beautiful end track about how it's time for this relationship to draw to a close.
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