Fort Worth musician G.W. Childs IV first caught our ears way back in 2022, with the release of his Tarrant County EP.
Although the initial description of his sound — “The Eagles meets the Weeknd, meets Earth, Wind and Fire” — was the hook, what really drew us in was the fact that this heretofore unknown singer-songwriter effective stuck the landing, creating a fascinating new fusion in the process.
Now billing himself as the “Texas synthpop cowboy,” Childs has remained active, dropping another pair of EPs in 2023, before unveiling Spectrum earlier this year, a 10-track collection about, well, the spectrum of colors — each song bears a colorful title (“Gold,” “Green,” “Violet” and so forth).
Childs has had synesthesia (defined as the brain sending sensory information through unrelated senses, i.e. “tasting words” or “hearing colors”) since childhood. Spectrum, according to the record’s press materials, is his attempt at harnessing his perception of the world and its colors in album form.
“When a series of events altered his life in the form of the [COVID-19] pandemic and other major events, Childs reverted to a simpler way of navigating and relating to the complex situations occurring in life by dealing with each moment as a color,” a statement accompanying the album reads in part. “Each color is a mood and a portal into those vibrations and perspectives.”
Childs, with support from BLKKRT and Popboy, will unleash his singular, synth-fueled sound live in Fort Worth on Sunday, July 28 at Tulips FTW.
G.W. Childs IV at Tulips FTW, Fort Worth. 7 p.m. Sunday. Tickets are $10.
Preston Jones is a North Texas freelance writer and regular contributor to KXT. Email him at [email protected] or find him on X (@prestonjones). Our work is made possible by our generous, music-loving members. If you like how we lift up local music, consider becoming a KXT sustaining member right here.
