Los Angeles songwriter, singer and producer John Waldo Wittenmyer, better known as Waldo Witt, has spent the last several years quietly building one of the more intriguing corners of modern independent music. Now, with his latest single, “Goodbye Summer,” he delivers a beautifully understated song that reveals just how far his songwriting has evolved.
Waldo Witt first began releasing music under the moniker in 2019 with Randall, a dreamy seven-song bedroom-pop album that clocked in at just 22 minutes. After releasing a series of singles in 2020, Witt stepped away from releasing music before returning in 2023 with the album Long Daze, Dark Nights.
Since 2024, however, Witt has found a particularly compelling rhythm, releasing 12 singles while steadily refining his songwriting voice. Rather than treating the single format as disposable, he has used it as a space for exploration, drawing from psychedelia, classic American songwriting and the work of writers such as Paul Simon and Jackson Browne.
That eclectic foundation is especially apparent on “Goodbye Summer.”
There is a noticeable softness here compared with some of Witt’s more existential material. The song feels reflective without becoming heavy, wistful without slipping into sentimentality. From its opening filtered vocal harmonies, there are echoes of the Beach Boys’ more ambitious and adventurous work, but Witt is doing considerably more than simply borrowing a familiar sound.
The real magic is in the songwriting.
Jazz-like chord changes and subtle harmonic shifts give “Goodbye Summer” an unexpectedly sophisticated backbone, while the chorus provides the song's emotional centre. Its melody carries a haunting, wistful quality that lingers long after the track ends, creating the kind of emotional pull that separates a memorable song from merely a pleasant listen.
For an artist who has spent the past few years treating each single as its own musical experiment, “Goodbye Summer” feels like another important step forward.
It is warm, melancholic, melodic and quietly ambitious a fitting farewell to summer from an artist who continues to prove that independent songwriting can still surprise.
Waldo Witt may be saying goodbye to summer, but he is clearly nowhere near finished exploring where the music can go next.
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