Premiere: Henry J. Star Shares Haunting New Track “Petrichor”
Henry J. Star. Photo courtesy of the artist,
Henry J. Star, the creative alias of Knoxville, TN-born singer-songwriter Devin Badgett, was born as an offering to his younger self—a quiet kid who found solace in stories, sketchbooks, and soundtracks. Growing up amid the incarceration of his father, the dissonance of a multi-racial identity, and the isolating sprawl of suburbia, Badgett turned to imagination as a lifeline. A worn VHS copy of The NeverEnding Story first showed him that a better world was possible, while long afternoons sketching to the Kingdom Hearts II theme “Dearly Beloved” offered portals to new realities.
That child’s worldbuilding spirit threads directly into Henry J. Star’s debut album, The Soft Apocalypse, out October 17 via Acrophase Records. Announced earlier this summer with the shimmering lead single “Greenway,” the record marks a bold new chapter for Badgett who previously fronted the post-punk project Vanosdale and cut his teeth opening for acts like Medium Build, All American Rejects, and nickname jos.
Opening with the haunting question, “What if I die today?,” his new single “Petrichor” refuses to flinch. It confronts the exhausting calculus of everyday decisions for Black individuals, with decisions that, in another context, would be small but here carry devastating weight. Badgett describes the song as:
“In memory of Ahmaud Arbery. A story about running while Black & the paradox of choice. This song was written in an attempt to underline how grandiose seemingly simple decisions can be for certain folks.”
Written, produced, and largely performed in bedrooms and basements across Tennessee, “Petrichor” pairs its lyrical weight with a soundscape that is urgent, deliberate, and impossible to ignore.
Much of The Soft Apocalypse emerged from Badgett’s enforced isolation during the early pandemic, when a canceled tour with Vanosdale forced him to journey inward. The result is a maximalist sonic world that channels anxieties into expansive, layered compositions, reflecting both his personal history and the universal desire to escape and rebuild.
Despite having little online presence, Henry J. Star has cultivated a shadowy mystique, drawing listeners to live shows where the music’s weight and beauty unfold in real time. It’s a project rooted in memory, but built for the present. It’s an exploration of identity, survival, and possibility.
The video for “Petrichor” mirrors the song’s intensity, translating Henry J. Star’s vision that refuses to turn away from its subject matter. More than a performance piece, it’s testimony and a reminder of how art can hold both pain and transcendence.
“Petrichor” is out September 5, via Acrophase Records. Henry J. Star’s debut album The Soft Apocalypse follows on October 17.
