Gaz Newton is a French singer/songwriter and musician, who started his career in earnest in a series of various bands. But by 2012, Newtown decided to step out from behind the band set up and be a solo artist in his own right.

In 2013, Newtown collaborated with longtime friends Jérémy Rassat and David Grrumel, who produced his first two EPs, The end of the day and The White EP. Both EPs found Newton establishing a sound and approach that’s heavily indebted to 90s alt rock and indie rock — and won the praise of critics. The French singer/songwriter and musician supported those releases with a series of live shows.

Newton’s full-length debut album, 2019’s Wu Wei was arguably the darkest batch of material he had written and recorded, centered around a sound that drew equally from indie rock, grunge and power pop. Last year, Newton enlisted musician and producer Pamela Hute to produce his sophomore album, Loveheroin. Written and recorded remotely, with Newton and Hute exchanging files through email, the 10 song album, which was released earlier this year through My Dear Recordings continues upon the French artist’s reputation for crafting 90s alt rock inspired guitar-driven anthems.

Loveheroin’s second and latest single “The River” is a Pavement-like guitar rock anthem centered around layers of shimmering and buzzing guitars, Newton’s detached and insouciantly delivered vocals, propulsive drumming and a rousingly anthemic, mosh pit friendly hook; but thematically, the song and its accompanying video focus on a rather dark, fucked up subject: the infamous and still-unsolved murder of a French boy in 1984.