Sean Solomon (ex-Moaning) Shares Debut Single 'Car Crash' Feat. Shannon Lay

Los Angeles-based songwriter and animator Sean Solomon has shared his debut single “Car Crash.” Recorded with producer Jarvis Taveniere (Whitney, Purple Mountains, Waxahatchee) of Woods, the track builds momentum over fingerpicked guitars before blossoming into an understated, luminous chorus featuring harmonies from Shannon Lay. After casually posting a simple, DIY clip of the song performed along to an animation he’d made, Solomon awoke to find the video had begun to rack up views, sitting close to 6 million across platforms now. Despite having never released a song under his own name, “Car Crash” now arrives to a passionate audience.

“I wrote this song after my first car accident,” Solomon says, “I grew up in Los Angeles but I never learned how to drive. It was a part of my shtick. I liked being able to look out the window and daydream. When I finally did get a car, I almost immediately got into a wreck and totaled it. The song is about that and I guess whatever else was happening in my life at the time. I write in a pretty stream of consciousness way so I’m not totally sure what it means either.”

After years spent touring with his Sub Pop-signed band Moaning, Solomon and his bandmates made the difficult decision to put the band on indefinite hiatus and recalibrate. The music industry kind of broke him. He poured himself into animation — an obsession and dream job that quickly became a reality. “I was getting work in the animation industry, and it seemed like the obvious career path,” explains Solomon. He made music videos for Run The Jewels and Unknown Mortal Orchestra and CHAI and Odd Future. He was living a dream, but it was only part of the dream. He still heard chords when he went to bed, ached for the feeling that artists like Elliott Smith, The Microphones, and Neutral Milk Hotel gave him.

He pursued songwriting free from the expectations that come alongside a career in the industry, allowing him to make music that felt closer to his ideal self than ever before. “That's when it clicked and I started making this kind of music where I didn’t give a s what anyone thinks.” Watch the animated music video for “Car Crash” directed by Sean Solomon below. 

With momentum snowballing behind the viral performance clip, Solomon’s 2025 is already taking shape with a string of debut live performances. He’ll join Rex Orange Country this weekend for a run of 6 sold out shows in London at The Palladium, and head out on a tour of the Southwest with Hey, Nothing, stopping in Houston, Austin, Dallas, Phoenix, and conclude home in Los Angeles on April 2nd at The Roxy. 

Without a band in tow, Solomon will be lugging a vintage TV set armed with a VCR to all his shows. He’ll be performing alongside animated visuals on the screen, with backing tracks put to tape, such that he’ll be carrying his own TV-only band to each show. “I was trying to figure out something that was captivating on stage when it's just me,” he explains. In keeping with the themes of his new music, he adds: “I wanted something that felt more raw or intentional as opposed to me just standing there with a laptop.” 

Tour Dates

Feb 16 - London, UK @ The London Palladium *

Feb 17 - London, UK @ The London Palladium *

Feb 18 - London, UK @ The London Palladium *

Feb 19 - London, UK @ The London Palladium *

Feb 21 - London, UK @ The London Palladium *

Feb 22 - London, UK @ The London Palladium *

March 26 - Houston, TX @ House of Blues - Bronze Peacock ^

March 28 - Austin, TX @ 3Ten ACL Live ^

March 29 - Dallas, TX @ House of Blues - Cambridge Room ^

April 1 - Phoenix, AZ @ The Rebel Lounge ^

April 2 - Los Angeles, CA @ The Roxy ^

* supporting Rex Orange County

^ supporting Hey, Nothing

Photo credit: Marlon Lenoble

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