Buck 65 Crafts A Sonically Opulent Breakup Album

Richard Terfry -- the two-time Juno Award-winning Nova Scotian rapper known as Buck 65 -- has always been primarily a storyteller, crafting tales from personal experiences and characters based on people he knows. But with Neverlove, Buck 65’s forthcoming album, and first in three years, his songs have never been more self-reflective. The record delves into what he describes as one of the most wrenching times in his life: the crumbling of his marriage and eventual divorce.

A few months back, fans got to hear the Neverlove's first single, “Only War,” a track that showcases Tiger Rosa -- one of nine female voices that sing opposite Buck 65’s plaintive delivery. Today, we’re getting another preview with the opulent, layered song “She Fades.”

From Blood On The Tracks to Sea Change, there’s a long history of the introspective breakup album. There’s nothing more relatable to a listener than when the mysterious facade of an artist’s persona melts away and they’re allowed to express themselves in raw, uninhibited detail. For Buck 65, Neverlove documents losing the love of his life: “It’s about the heartbreak, confusion, anger and madness I experienced after losing a love I expected to last the rest of my life,” he says.

And while Neverlove lyrically examines that emotional fallout, the record also follows the grief process -- from initial heartache to slowly allowing those lingering feelings to dull and memories to fade a little in order to move forward. Musically, the songs on Neverlove, and especially “She Fades,” are as richly textured as anything Buck 65 has crafted. With its bed of throbbing synths and glitched beats that clack and ping pong around your headphones, “She Fades” has a swooning vocal hook, “These days, she fades, she fades away.” It's a simple line that captures a genuine sentiment most of us have felt at one time or another.

Here's what he had to say about the song:

"This might be my personal favorite song on the album. I made this song with my friend Matt who makes music and DJs under the name Sunclef. He also played keys and bass on several songs on the album. It took me a long time to wrap my head around the music for this one. The time signature is bonkers. I'm still not quite sure what it is. I just had to learn how to count over it. One interesting thing is that I had to write my lyrics in triads, rather than in couplets. I don't know of another song that is structured in this way. This song used an incredible number of tracks. There are so many layers of sound! It's basically about turning into a full-on crazy person after my wife left. I was a real a mess there for a while."

Buck 65's album, Neverlove, is out on Sept. 30 via Warner Music. He's playing at Santos Party House in New York on Oct. 1.