Public Library Commute Brings a Grounded Warmth Through Debut Album ‘Close to the Sun’
CONRAD HSIANG IS A LIVING ENCOURAGEMENT — for the boys who make beats in their bedrooms and dream of making it big. The New Jersey native is the arranger, writer, and vocalist of indie-pop sensation Public Library Commute.
With an air of bemusement, Hsiang shared that he didn’t even sing at first — he started out accompanying his friends on guitar at high school coffeehouses. Since then, he’s made it onto Spotify’s coveted Bedroom Pop playlist, played Austin City Limits, and toured with Surfaces and Fiji Blue. Most recently, he completed his first full-length album, Close to the Sun, out today.
“Music is definitely an organic process for me,” he said of his growth. “I’ve always enjoyed exploring instruments, chord progressions, and my voice. I think the curiosity around it keeps me coming back.”
While in college, Hsiang devoted more time than ever to music, as he began to dream bigger. “Yeah, I wanna go so far, oh (All the way west so soon),” he croons in a 2018 track “California.”
In 2020, Hsiang achieved the dream he’d had since 16: He moved to LA to pursue music full-time.
“It definitely was everything I thought it would be,” Hsiang said. “Both my roommates worked in music, and we’d have days where we would just wake up, drive to the beach, and get in the ocean just to cleanse. And those sorts of days stuck with me.”
However, Hsiang has since moved back to New Jersey: to Montclair, a township 20 miles away from his hometown of Mountain Lakes.
When asked what prompted the move, Hsiang referenced two key moments from his year on tour. First, he was brought to tears by Emily Watts’ cover of “La Vie En Rose” during a random night on the road. Then, he heard the opening line from John Mayer’s “In Your Atmosphere”: “I don’t think I’m gonna go to LA anymore.”
“It’s funny, when people ask me [why I moved], I usually give a short answer, like, ‘I wanted to see my friends,’ or whatever,” Hsiang shared. “But it definitely was a few songs that actually steered me towards it.”
Reminiscent of the story of Icarus, the title of his debut album, Close to the Sun, came to Hsiang during a flight to Flagstaff, Arizona. He explains that he saw snow on the ground below, felt the intense warmth of the sun above, and began to think of his life as an artist in the framework of this contrast.
“There's a balance of being so close to something good — there’s this dream life of music full-time… and getting to travel everywhere,” he said. “But it's a very delicate, fragile thing. You have to be careful. You have to structure your life.”
On tour, Hsiang created structure by finding moments alone and completing the New York Times crossword (on paper, at that).
“One of the happiest moments on tour for me was having a cup of coffee completely solo in the lobby of this hotel, right on the beach,” he said. “I had a coffee, a crossword, and I think I fell asleep eventually, too. It was the most peaceful moment.”
Since moving home, he’s kept up the crossword habit and added a few more: making coffee every morning, resuming a gym routine, and reconnecting with high school friends.
Being home also meant Hsiang was able to better tap into that foolproof yet fickle fuel: nostalgia.
“It’s the same environment, but because I’m different, the nostalgia hits way harder,” Hsiang explained. “I’ve come out with much more authentic stuff because my relationships to places and people have changed. I feel a wider range of emotion on the East Coast than I did in LA.”
Written primarily in the past year since Hsiang moved back to New Jersey, Close to the Sun embodies the wisdom and vibe of an old soul. The sweet softness of the album is a refreshing antidote to the summer heat, revealing a versatile sound. There’s the chill, dreamy vibe of “Blue Moon,” the upbeat guitar zing of “Yesterdays,” and the ’80s-style flute trills featured on “So Good.”
With a few tours under his belt, Hsiang also developed a greater awareness of what would translate well live, both musically and lyrically. His lyrics are simple, but not simplistic — they’re charged with an emotional fluency and maturity not found in many young artists.
When Hsiang first started out, he wrote toward specific audiences, such as listeners of Spotify’s Bedroom Pop or Lorem. But another shift that came for him when moving back home was his creative process, pushing him away from this habit. “Writing for the public is such an easy trap to fall into,” he said. “I used to do it completely.”
The rise of artists like Montell Fish and d4vd, whose songs found success on TikTok based on emotional resonance rather than commercial potential, encouraged Hsiang to stay close to his natural sound. “I felt free to write what would serve me creatively,” he said.
He noted that he deliberately didn’t put drums on his track “Rush,” instead opting for soft harmonies and easy acoustics. “I’m a big ‘no drums’ guy,” he shared. “I’ve always been afraid to do it, though. But on this album, I felt very liberated to just do what I wanted.”
Striking at the soft space between grounded and floating, there’s no doubt that Close to the Sun will find a home in hearts and on playlists.
