In his second single ‘do you ever? (think of me)’, Manchester-born alt-folk newcomer Joe Kutryk proves that sometimes the smallest gestures hold the most weight. What begins as a gentle murmur of guitar and voice unfolds into a quietly devastating meditation on emotional distance, the kind that creeps in between people who once felt inseparable. Written in the stillness of lockdown but resonating just as sharply now, the song captures the odd paralysis that stops us from saying the things we mean most.
Kutryk’s approach is disarmingly simple yet deeply deliberate. Recorded entirely in his bedroom with a single Rode NT1-A mic, the track feels like it’s leaning in to share a secret. Acoustic phrases fade in and out, while harmonies and string swells, provided by his wife Nadia, trace the emotional undercurrent without ever crowding it. There’s an intimacy here that resists the gloss of overproduction, allowing every breath and pause to linger.
Drawing on the poetic grit of the late-2000s London nu-folk movement, Kutryk channels the spirit of Johnny Flynn and his peers, marrying tenderness with a raw, lived-in edge. Beneath the melancholy lies a subtle wit, a self-awareness that turns vulnerability into quiet resilience. ‘do you ever? (think of me)’ rewards close listening, inviting you into a space where imperfections hum with their own kind of truth.
This is Kutryk at his most unguarded, a songwriter unafraid to leave room for silence, hesitation, or the human mess between the lines. It’s a song that lets the question in its title hang in the air; unanswered, sitting with you after the song ends.
