Trafton’s “Gone” is a cold, lonely affair

It’s easy to imagine yourself in a verdant, lonely locale when listening to the music of East Village-based songwriter Trafton, and new single “Gone” is his coldest, most distant destination yet. Damper-pedaled pianos and an at times whispering falsetto endow this recent offering with visions of wintery woods, a more key-friendly take on the isolation familiar to fans of Bon Iver or Thoreau’s Walden. Within this distance established between Trafton and the listener, however, is a separate, more intrinsic loneliness, the product of a separation between the artist and their now-gone ex-love, as well as a desire to return; Trafton’s parting words implore the individual to “come tell me I’m wrong, and please don’t be gone.” It’s a haunting track that will resonate with fans of folk and good songwriting during this cold December— listen below. —Connor Beckett McInerney