Hear “Local Nomad & the Soft Rock Orchestra” on streaming platforms on March 15
Michael Desmond isn’t jaded, but he’s not blinded by undue optimism, either. He’s tasted success—his 2020 song “Love Is Gone” garnered 2.5 million streams on Spotify. But after hiccups with a record deal amid the pandemic, Desmond, who releases music as Local Nomad, left his native New York for the Lowcountry. His sister, Jenna, fronts the popular Charleston act Babe Club, and family ties called him south. Since then, he’s met and married a local and established Local Nomad as a pillar of the city’s indie-pop music scene.
With this month’s release of his first full-length album, Local Nomad & the Soft Rock Orchestra, Desmond is cementing that fresh start, even as he acknowledges that millions of streams don’t preclude an anchor gig waiting tables. “I think everyone goes through a phase where they take themselves way too seriously,” he admits, elaborating on the “Soft Rock Orchestra” of the album title. “It’s playful. It felt like an honest encapsulation of the record: chill rock music that’s organic, with a bit of tongue-in-cheek to it.”
Local Nomad captures the modern thirtysomething experience through songs like the earworm “Tinderella,” where Desmond sings of the online dating experience: “Says you’re a Christian/and you like fishing” and, “Don’t like commitment/But find fulfillment/in watching reruns of Seinfeld on TV,” before the chorus: “I’m not your lover/You’re not my friend/I’m just somebody/Some body in your bed.”
On “Blockbuster I” and “Blockbuster II”—full and stripped-down versions of the same song—Desmond sings of a teenage Friday night roaming the suburbs: “Drinking wine getting holy water wasted/as we watched the credits roll/I will never be alone.” It’s one of many songs on the 10-track collection that tap into nostalgic sentimentalism without relying on cynicism to make the point. “I’ve been diving into narrative songwriting with these super introspective songs about growing up, being a millennial, and trying to fit into this world,” he says. “I don’t necessarily feel old—I just don’t feel like I’m young anymore.”
“Get Along” draws on this matured perspective, with Desmond speaking directly to his father: “I grew up, I thought I knew everything/Turns out I didn’t know a thing/All along/You were right Dad/Why’s it hard to get along?”
“I was trying to write a modern Cat Stevens’s ‘Father and Son,’” says Desmond. “When you’re a kid, you get mad at your parents, and then you grow up, and one day, it hits you—the stuff they had to go through to raise you.”
While earlier Local Nomad releases hit hard, the Soft Rock Orchestra songs draw on influences like Tears for Fears and Phil Collins (or more recently, Real Estate and Bahamas) in their layered but clean, danceable tracks. The most acoustic, “I Really Do,” is reminiscent of an early Beatles song.
Local Nomad’s music feels good, with hooks that could easily slot into movie credits or a car advertisement. That’s part of Desmond’s business plan—he recently sold a clip to Chive TV, a digital content network common in airports and bars—but he’s also aware of how AI music generation compounds the challenges artists face. “Music that’s real will always come back,” he says. “Even if something doesn’t sound perfect, if it connects with people, that’s what’s important.”
