Indie-punk band Pacifico is set to release its first entirely self-funded album Without Heroes after a three-year process. The album took the one-man band to multiple states, recording studios and collaborators that Matthew Schwartz, the sole member of Pacifico, chose himself. The record is a concept piece that tells the stories of people (or “walls of personal heroes,” as Schwartz calls it) that have impacted and helped him create every piece of music he has made.

Heroes takes you an emotional journey, from somber songs such as “I Want to Love You Like I’m Sober” and “Your Royal Highness,” to the upbeat, tap-your-feet songs like “I’m Letting Go Now Here I Am” and “Black and Bruised.” Hand-in-hand with his collaborators, Schwartz offers us a different sound from each song for every type of mood. I couldn’t get enough of the variety.

I found myself taken aback by the lyrics and the overall feel of the album; I was recommending it to my friends and family soon after the first spin. The song “I Want to Love You Like I’m Sober” makes you feel like you’re in a cartoon with a rain cloud over your head that’s only pouring on you. That’s one of the album’s greatest strengths: the lyrics are universally relatable; they are what pushed me to share Without Heroes with more than one generation. Overall, the album is capable of making the listener feel a vast variety of emotions, from intense happiness to introspective reflection. I will be eagerly awaiting the next album.