As a child raised in New Jersey, Charlie Hill found an identity in music, learning to play guitar at age eleven and clinging to the instrument the way one might a diary or confidant, a source of reflection and guidance. Now twenty-nine, he holds just as tightly to the artform’s answers. He writes songs to understand himself and to further that self, a committed continuation of self-actualization. After all, coming of age is not a singular, finite event.

Hill’s creative process begins in what he calls “someplace between the physical and conscious,” a supernatural spark and the willingness to fan it into flames. “I think of music as a translation of what’s happening inside, so I never try to force it into a specific direction or shape,” he shares. “I’ll often pick up the guitar and start playing as if it’s a song that already exists. I’ll improvise all the way through, let the song write itself, let lyrics unfurl over instinct.” The result is an audible vulnerability, a ragged honesty utterly personal, a candor that hooks into your heart like a raw truth from a dear friend.

Vulnerability is a prevalent theme for Hill present day. He formerly performed under the moniker Chazzy Lake, and when asked about the decision to tie his real name to the recordings, responds with a tone of liberated submission. “I make music to slough off shame, to embrace the self, to make listeners know it’s okay to feel,” he says. “Using my real name just feels right.” In all artistic choices as of late, Hill is reaching for authenticity—openly embracing new collaborators, stripping back performances to their feeling bones. He’s willing to thin the veil down to nearly nothing.

Hill’s musical endeavors have been boldly exploratory—from disco punk to ‘80s New Age—but he’s found a sonic home amidst a folk-rooted sound. It’s evident as ever on new album Chuck Pond—titled in playful homage to a self’s varied versions—out April 7, produced by Benny Yurco. The album ranges from a rattling buoyancy reminiscent of Dr. Dog to a ground-out balladry a la Townes Van Zandt.

“I wanted to embody the emotional side of the human experience, and country music has this beautiful humility to it.” Hill lived in Burlington, followed by a stint in Brooklyn, before moving to his current base, Nashville. He’s incorporated elements like the tic-tac bass, low register vocals, and pedal steel into the new album. Classic and bellowing intonations suit his voice, which can gristle thick and evocative one moment, and glisten delicate and dewy the next.