Mark Henry Phillips’ first album under the recording name Sono Oto will be released in March, with the first track debuting today. Known for his work as a sound designer and composer for movies (Cutie & The Boxer) and podcasts (Serial), he brings a lot of the sweeping musicality of scores into his pop songs. 

“A Way To Stay Away” spends much of its duration sounding a bit too close to the last Coldplay album, but comes alive in the final minute. His voice is very steady and soothing, which makes it easy to listen to, even if you’re not a fan. The final minute makes me think of Sono Oto as maybe next in line to Jon Brion for this sort of thing. 

The album, Inheritance, is out March 24th.