34. Album Preview of Tales of a Failed Altruist by Han

Originally published August 27th, 2024

About the Artist

There are many opinions on the definition of life. Medically, to be alive is defined by a group of categories where biological matter must meet qualifications: living things must metabolize, grow, reproduce, move, respond to stimulation, maintain equilibrium, biologically organize, and we must adapt. So says accredited encyclopedias, medical dictionaries, etc. To me, some of the most incredible things in life are the inorganic things that possess some of the same attributes. Like music, for example. Music may not be living, but it is alive.

Han is the Dr. Frankenstein to this analogy. He brings inorganic life to a culture where we have so much content it begs the question, “have we come too far?”

Han is a recording artist, producer, and engineer originally from the Bay Area in Northern California. I usually like to ask for a little bit of background information from artists I intend to review or sometimes I will go on and try to find information myself and I will try to write from information I found. I like hearing from the artist because what they tell me typically gives me insight into what they’re not telling me. The thing that stands out about Han is he is open about the topics that are usually read between the lines. “I struggled with depression for a long time as a teenager, and ended up in a psychiatric ward when I was 15 after a suicide note I wrote was discovered.” Han wrote this. It is part of the forth sentence of his biography. Despite popular misinformation, not everybody likes to talk about their struggles with mental health. Fortunately, awareness is being made and it’s becoming less of a stigma, but it is still a hard thing to open up about. 

Han lays it out after speaking about the academic pressures and high expectations of growing up in a community that is located between Meta HQ and Stanford University. He quickly identifies the origin of his struggles with depression and then he says this: “I wrote my first songs in that psychiatric ward and never stopped writing throughout the many years of therapy and self-growth that followed.” He writes of music as if he had discovered it for himself, when in reality, music found him. 

At 19, Han moved to New York, and thus began his journey as an independent recording artist. He released his debut album, Mental Advisory in 2020 and immediately followed it up with Reflections and Reputations in 2021. Speaking of his first release, Han says, “It’s quite rough around the edges, but so far I’ve kept it up as a reminder of where I started from.” I want to step away from this article for a moment to address the artist directly: Han, I think it is important you leave it up for this very reason. Stand by your work. Your music today wouldn’t exist without it. 

Please take the time to reach out to Han on Instagram, Threads, and Spotify. You can also visit his website, where he is advertising some upcoming events:

Wednesday, August 28th - Early Listening Party in Brooklyn, NY

Thursday, August 29th - Album Release Show at The Delancey in NYC (doors at 10pm)

Thursday, September 26th - Brooklyn Music Kitchen (doors at 9pm)

About the Album

Tales of a Failed Altruist is a pop/hyperpop album by the recording artist Han. It is 14 songs with a runtime of just over 48 minutes. In addition to hyperpop and pop, the album derives influence from rock, grunge, rap, indie-rock, and emo. I could actually reference several artists and bands that I heard subtle influences from including Glaive, aldn, Quadeca, underscoresOLD Dashboard Confessional, and there are some similarities to what Childish Gambino is producing today.

Han also sites references of his own, like Queen and David Bowie. “By the time I started putting this album together, I felt I’d advanced enough to finally be able to work in this style (rock) and write the songs I’ve always wanted to write.”

I can definitely hear those influences as well, though what Han has given us is a very modern product. Instrumentally, the album is a generous mixture of guitars, synths, bass guitar, drums, programming, and keys. Vocally, Han incorporates a diverse range of production expertise showcasing vocal performance that sounds organic, to incorporating vocoders, auto tuning, aggressive pitch modulation, and multiple layers incorporated in lead and backing vocals.

Diversity is they key here and I love it. With every single song, it is a question of what you’re going to get next. It might be an acoustic folk vibe, it might be rap, it might be a purely electronic hyperpop sound, or it might sound like a garage band SoCal surf rock sound.

About the Music

There is so much to say here, I don’t know where to start. The album starts with “Here’s the First Thing You Should Know.” Musically, this is very much pop rock; almost uplifting (not talking about the lyrics) as the verse and bridge transition in an anthem-style chorus, layered with backing vocals both backing providing backup to the melody, as well as filling space like a chorus with layered “ah’s.” The bridge has a very bright guitar solo and ends with the anthem chorus. 

Leading into “At Least, I’m Self-Aware,” the song starts with almost an 80’s feel, with a likening to Tears for Fears but then transitions into a more hyperpop sound. He stays with this blend for the first few songs, with the vocal performances slowly evolving into a true hyperpop sound. In “Save Some Love for Me,” Han incorporates vocal modulation effects similar to Scrapyard by Quadeca, Bando Stone and the New World by Childish Gambino, and some of Tyler, the Creator's more recent work.

From there he moves into “Teenage Cancer,” an acoustic ballad that completely shifts gears from electronic to organic. Then follows “Time Machine” and this features the artists Emmalime and Chunebaby. This might be the best song on the album, musically. It is the closest reference to mainstream music on the album, and is masterfully produced by 1troxell.

“Crows,” featuring Red Eye, experiments with rap over a sort of grunge rock sound, with Han providing the vocals for the chorus. 

The title track, “Tales of a Failed Altruist,” is the closing song on the album. At nearly 9 minutes, it doesn’t disappoint. The song starts out similarly to the start of the album with a bright sounding sort of pop rock sound, with guitars that sort of feature phaser-styled effects. Suddenly, the song sort of veers into a piano ballad, sort of like Queen’s Bohemian Rhapsody but again transitions to a very creative a cappella vocal performance. After this impressive section, it closes out with an altogether different sounding rock outro. This was personally, my favorite song. 9 minute songs aren’t for everybody but, it turns out, they’re for me. I loved it.

About the Lyrics

I want to preface this section by issuing a warning that the lyrical content of this album details an individual’s experience with depression and mental health treatment and recovery, as well as suicide and hospitalization for mental health issues. If you are triggered by these topics, you may want to stop reading here.

“I’ve wanted for a long time to confront my past and be honest about the things I’ve done and the shame I feel over it, and much of the album deals with themes of youth, regret, and seeking atonement that may or may not be actually achievable.” 

Musically, there is a brightness in the composition of Han’s work. Though, equally talented, the same cannot be said for the lyrics. He addresses some very dark topics in his latest work. In the chorus of “Here’s the First Thing You Should Know,” he sings “The first thing you should know about me. I almost died at the end of a rope. The second thing you should know about me is I’m still fighting trying to find a way to go.” Listening to this, I feel the author is trying to address his mental health; both as it is a part of his past as well as something he is learning to live with still. “(The song) represents the proverbial warning sign I feel hanging over my head on account of my rough mental health history whenever I start getting close with a new person.” I can honestly relate to this concept. I feel the same way about my inner demons. I think we try to project an image of how we want to be perceived, all the while, fearing people will see the hardest parts of us. The parts we struggle with, fear, or are ashamed of. It took me a long time to learn that it is all encompassing.

“Teenage Cancer, is based on a true story in which I lied about having a terminal illness when I was 14 for attention from my classmates, and the regret I feel over it.” This song is so deep and so personal. The content of this story is so tragic and layered in so many ways, I really applaud the author for sharing it. To do something like this, I can’t imagine how intense the internal struggle must have been. Han has really done a terrific job putting it into words. I found beauty in how uncomfortable his words made me feel. 

The lyrical performance for this album might just be the strongest representation of Han’s talent, which is in no way meant to discredit how prolific of a musical talent he is.

Final Thoughts

I don’t remember the last time I heard such a personal album. I have heard them before. I have written personal things myself. My songs generally gravitate towards my personal struggle with faith; being as I grew up with the desire to work in ministry and I studied religion right into definitive and total atheism. But I haven’t ever found a way to depict that the way Han has here. “No matter how I feel about this project in the future, I imagine I’ll still look back on it and be proud of the story I felt so inspired to tell.” This is a work the artist should definitely feel proud to tell.

In the way of style and marketability, this album lines right in with what more notorious artists are doing with Hyperpop. Musically and lyrically, the content falls directly in this category. There’s an argument to be made that the lyrical content might be a bit more evolved, but that just gives opportunity for adaptation of the future of this genre. 

Han has not only created an album, but he has “created a monster,” too. Though I can’t imagine him standing in an engineering room listening to his creation screaming “It’s alive!,” (though it’s kinda of funny to try to), like Dr. Frankenstein, he has created a living work of art. Music is progressive, and Han has shown how to bring about this progress. He has taken old influence and transitioned it to something new. Something creative. Something beautiful. He has redefined traditionally ugly things; social stigmas and “abnormalities,” and he has shown us how they’re part of us and therefore, part of the beauty of it all.