Listen to “Gospel for a New Century” by Yves Tumor

Yves Tumor wanders through the fields of genre and takes whatever form is most convenient for his thoughts. In 2016, Serpent Music proved he was fluent in noise and ambient; 2018’s Safe in the Hands of Love demonstrated the musician’s rock and R&B bona fides as well. Though “Gospel for a New Century,” the opening track and lead single from his forthcoming album, Heaven to a Tortured Mind, may sound like a straightforward rock anthem, the enigmatic title and propulsive production herald grander subjects—perhaps apocalypse, perhaps rebirth—than the broken relationship hinted at in its lyrics.

A sunny strummed melody narrates the initial coupling, while the impending collapse is represented by a horn and drum sample that could be a Donuts interlude. The frenzied shifts between chaotic rhythm and acoustic reverie mirror Tumor’s longing for a point in the past when things were more clear. “Cause when I really needed you the most, yeah, you were gone then,” he sings. As he gradually loses control over this situation, his croon becomes a sneer. By the time he screams, “This ain’t by design, girl,” there’s no going back.