Multi-instrumentalist Tyler Elden released his song “Trial By Fire” on 30 November 2022 as a way of reflecting on the turmoil (indeed, “trials”) of the past several years. There is a certain level of catharsis here, reflected by his desire to empathize with (by his own admission) “anyone feeling lost or confused over the past several years”.
“Trial By Fire” opens with a beautifully lush guitar line that leads into a mid-tempo indie rock piece with a lush, atmospheric sound that perfectly plays alongside Elden’s emotive, expressive vocals. There is a sense of brooding despair throughout, both musically and lyrically (especially the line about “...the struggle to keep fighting when all seems lost”, which is a sentiment shared by many people over the past 3 or so years). As the song progresses, Elden’s vocals gradually build up to the cathartic finale where he wonders aloud what could happen “if tomorrow never comes”.
In the hands of a lesser artist, such sentiments could come off as trite, or possibly head in the opposite direction into the land of the bombastic. Instead, there is an understated elegance here that is increasingly rare in our modern-day age of autotuned melodramatic pablum. Tyler Elder is definitely an artist to watch in the future, and “Trial by Far” shall stand as the perfect “exhibit A” as to why.
Listen to “Trial By Fire” on Spotify here:
You can check out Tyler Elden’s website here: