i clung to you hoping we'd both drown

Released in 2011, 'i clung to you hoping we'd both drown' is a foundational text for the modern lo-fi and 'bedroom folk' movement. Mitch Welling's project, Flatsound, emerged from a DIY ethos that prioritized emotional immediacy over studio fidelity. This specific album is characterized by its extreme vulnerability, often dealing with themes of agoraphobia, anxiety, and the complexities of interpersonal relationships. The recording quality is famously 'low,' featuring audible background noise, floorboard creaks, and vocal takes that feel unedited and raw. This aesthetic choice transformed the album into a cult classic, particularly within online communities on Tumblr and Bandcamp. It sits as a bridge between the slowcore of the 1990s and the emo-adjacent indie folk of the 2010s, influencing a generation of artists who would go on to record in their own private spaces. It remains Flatsound's most definitive and emotionally taxing work.