The Toronto alt-rock upstart’s sophomore EP channels coming-of-age uncertainty into anthems for a fractured generation
At just 21, Toronto-based alternative artist Rohin is already positioning himself as one of Canada’s most promising young voices. On 28 August, he dropped his second EP, As the Light Fades, a five-song collection that turns the confusion of early adulthood into jagged, shimmering indie rock.
“I believe it is my best work yet, and my most intentional,” Rohin tells Rolling Stone. “It’s about the ending of eras and trying to find catharsis in that crisis.”
The record brims with that tension—half restless nostalgia, half fragile hope. Lead single “Sundown” lays bare the bruises of a one-sided relationship, all swirling guitars and raw vocals that teeter between desperation and release. “Someday,” already a fan favorite, is the sound of being stuck at the threshold of adulthood—restless, uncertain, but still reaching for meaning.
The new tracks cut even deeper. “Chinatown in the Rain” channels the fizz and fog of ‘90s grunge into a fleeting romance set against a decaying cityscape. “Trueblue” burns like a short fuse: the thrill of falling fast into someone, followed by the ache of watching it collapse. Closer “Rosa” is the EP’s most haunting moment, drawing unsettling parallels between the instability of our current world and darker chapters of history—while still finding space for a fragile love story. Rohin doesn’t shy away from messiness—existential dread, hedonism, loneliness—but wraps it in songs that sound both nostalgic and fresh, inspired by the British indie rock tradition and textured with ambient synths.
It’s not just the songwriting that’s leveled up—the sound itself has sharpened. Rohin blends the jagged guitars of British indie rock with the shimmering textures of ambient synths, crafting songs that feel both massive and intimate. It’s a mix that places him less alongside his Canadian peers and more in the lineage of artists who redefined alternative music by refusing to play safe—think early Radiohead angst colliding with the cinematic sprawl of The 1975.
A year ago, Rohin was just another kid with a debut EP and a standout single (“Sadlove”). Now, with As the Light Fades, he’s staking a claim as one of the most vital new voices in alt-rock. He moved to Toronto at 18, chasing dreams, and the gamble is starting to look less like a risk and more like inevitability.
As the Light Fades isn’t just a snapshot of a young artist leveling up—it’s a mirror held up to anyone trying to grow up in a world that feels like it’s unraveling at the seams.
Listen to As the Light Fades here.
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