Heartbreak is one of music’s oldest subjects, but not everyone handles it with such honesty. Calgary-based synthpop artist Vanden Dool, the project of Tyler Vanden Dool, returned in June 2025 with a five-track EP titled “I Don’t Know If You Can Love Me”, and it is one of the more quietly affecting releases to come out of the Canadian prairies in recent memory. Following his pattern of centering each release around a single focus, with past EPs exploring his hometown life in Lethbridge and the allure and unattainability of a high life, this EP turns inward, zeroing in entirely on the ache of unrequited love. Drawing on a decade’s worth of experience blending classic and contemporary electronic sounds, and clearly shaped by the likes of CHVRCHES, M83, Depeche Mode, and Pet Shop Boys, Vanden Dool delivers something that feels personal rather than borrowed.
The EP opens with “I’m Not in Love with You”, a track built around the raw vulnerability of the vocals, slowly unraveling the emotional fallout of a relationship before bursting open into a wave of swelling synths. It sets the tone right away. The feelings are on the surface; nothing is hidden behind production gloss, and that directness is exactly what makes it work. “I Want Your World” pushes into darker, more club-influenced territory, with Vanden Dool’s vocals cutting through with clarity and force that, at times, recalls Brian Molko of Placebo for its sheer directness. The lead single “Not What You Want” shifts gears, arriving with a more energetic rhythm section that gives the heartache an almost defiant momentum. Lines like “I can’t have what I want / You don’t want what I have” are blunt and bruising, painting a picture of self-doubt and longing that most listeners will recognize immediately.
The final stretch, through “Somebody That Someone Can Love” and the closing “When I Can See You”, takes on a brighter indie aesthetic underpinned by rolling percussion, emotionally lighter but no less affecting. The closer moves at a slow, waltz-like pace, a quiet and tender way to end things, and it feels completely earned after everything that came before. The EP was written and composed entirely by Ty Vanden Dool, with vocals and programming handled by him, mixed by Jon Martin, and mastered by Martin. Recording took place partly through MacEwan University’s Artist-in-Residence program in Edmonton and partly at the home studio of long-time friend Tristan Smetana in Calgary. The result is an EP that sounds both intimate and put-together, the kind of balance that is harder to pull off than it looks.
On a personal note, this EP hit differently. Writing so openly about loving someone who cannot or will not love you back takes a particular kind of courage, and Vanden Dool earns it across all five tracks with real craft and consistency. It is the kind of release that lingers well after the last note fades. If you are new to Vanden Dool, “I Don’t Know If You Can Love Me” is the right place to start. If you have been following his work, this EP is a solid reminder of how well he translates real human experience into electronic sound. Follow him across all platforms so you do not miss what comes next, and get every track from this EP into your playlist now. Whether you find yourself drawn to the brooding pulse of “I Want Your World” or the gentle stillness of “When I Can See You”, there is something here for every mood. Stream it, pass it along, and keep it close. Vanden Dool deserves a much bigger audience, and releases like this one are exactly why.
