HARMLESS Shares “Couldn’t Be Me” Bedroom Pop Glimpse Into His Life After Near Death Crime; Album Out 3/29

Today, gold-selling bedroom pop artist Harmless, aka Los Angeles-based, Mexico City-born songwriter/producer Nacho Cano, shares his blissful new single, “Couldn’t Be Me.” It is the latest release from his upcoming album, Springs Eternal, out March 29, 2024. He explains, “This might have been the hardest song to make in this entire record. I was essentially trying to tell my younger self about how we’ve ended up disabled and the consequences of it in our daily life. These feelings are reflected in my social and professional experiences and are intensified while on tour. It used to be our great dream to tour the country, and now I see it as a horrible nightmare because of the physical pain caused by my disabilities. At the end of every tour, I return home and spend days in bed to recuperate from doing something I love. I am connected to myself the most when I’m on stage, but I struggle knowing the pain I’ll suffer for doing it. It especially pains me because I’ve had to cut tours short to be mindful of my body. It’s hard not to look at your friends, in music and outside of it, and not feel jealous of their physical well-being. They’ve never had to fight death. I wish I were them.”

WATCH + SHARE “COULDN”T BE ME”

Springs Eternal is first full-length album in nine years. The almost decade-long gap was not intentional; instead, it was a result of almost being killed by a drunk driver in a hit-and-run crime while he was biking to work, the surgery to rebuild his spine and face, the long recovery that left him bedridden for a year, the court case that followed, and to top it off, the pandemic.

He wrote Springs Eternal in his small office-turned-home studio in Silverlake, CA, while reconciling with how his life has changed, how the crime still has long-lasting implications, and while trying to remember what it was like before when he was a blog-obsessed teenage immigrant who was excited to start a band and see it gain traction. The record was co-produced by Yves Rothman at the iconic Sunset Sound in only nine days. Cano really wanted to recreate the carefree writing style he had as a teen, so he put time limitations on the entire process, going with his gut and attempting not to overthink it. Springs Eternal will feature the recent singles “Hate Me,” “It’s Only You,” “Rosie,” “What U Want,” and “As I Lay Chillin.”

Harmless draws inspiration from his wife, life in America as an artist, an immigrant, and a person disabled by a crime. Nacho grew up in Mexico near Mexico City before his family settled in San Diego. At 17-years-old, he developed an obsession with the “blog-o-sphere,” intently following the commentary of Pitchfork, Anthony Fantano, and more as a self-professed “early high school internet kid.” This obsession made him realize it was possible to make music of his own. Not long after gaining citizenship and starting to gain traction on his music, the hit-and-run crime happened. As if by a stroke of well-earned luck, while in recovery his anthem “Swing Lynn” organically exploded on TikTok. In between the jarring experience of the criminal trial for his accident, it picked up a Gold certification and scored nearly half-a-billion streams and counting. He maintained this momentum with several EPs including the Mr. Baby EP [2022] highlighted by “Nacho’s,” “Mrs. Moody,” and “Call Katie.” Simultaneously, he toured with Vacations, Wavves, Roar, and many more.

Tonight, Harmless will combine his love for music and film by hosting a VHS video screening in Los Angeles at Whammy of the film The Hunted, along with select music videos by him and other friends. He is co-hosting with Isabelle Aspin and Brian Smee, who directed and animated his music video for “Hate Me.”