You know how you can sometimes glance at words and your brain automatically arranges them into similar words that make zero sense at all? That’s exactly what happened when I saw the name “Bryant Alama.” At first glance, I was like, “Okay, cool. Bryan Alabama has a new song called “All the Parties That We Had.”

Well, I don’t know who Bryan Alabama is – or if he has a new song – but Portland, Oregon’s indie folk-rocker Bryant Alama does. “All the Parties That We Had” is a rootsy, acoustic-driven track soaked in the kind of nostalgia that raises the hair on your arms. The newest track off of On A Whim, a split EP between Alama and longtime friend and collaborator Alec Trusty, “All the Parties That We Had” is loaded with introspective lyrics and swirling guitar melodies.

“Work so hard

Try and try

Build a life

Before you die.”

It reminds me of parties in my hometown, a one-stoplight place where you’ve got to either work or drink until you pass out to forget that you’re stuck in a place where nothing ever changes: the people, the places, the parties. There’s a sadness beneath the forced laughter, a sadness that goes unaddressed because it’s just too weighty to acknowledge.

Stream “All the Parties That We Had” and pour one out for the places you’ve left behind: