The moniker for his recording project, Port Ross, is borrowed from a cluster of subantarctic islands off the coast of New Zealand, a place of shipwrecks and castaways.

It is a fitting alias for an artist concerned with isolation, navigation, and the artifacts we leave behind. However, the coordinates for his stunning debut album, ‘Nighttime at Gardner Hall,’ are found in the echoing corridors of the University of Utah and the quiet suburbs of Salt Lake City.

Premiering today exclusively here, the ten-track LP is a triumph of lo-fi intimacy and chamber-folk. Written, recorded, and produced entirely by Sperry before being mastered by the legendary Alan Douches (Sufjan Stevens, Animal Collective), the record is a sonic diary kept during the stillness of 3 AM.

The album’s title refers to Libby Gardner Hall, the concert venue where Sperry worked as an evening practice room monitor. It was there, in the solitude of the night, that he began capturing the “hallowed” silence of the space, blending the hum of choir sessions and fly-on-the-wall conversations with a growing library of field recordings. The result is a textural collage that recalls the spectral works of The Microphones or the early, fragile compositions of Elliott Smith. On tracks like ‘Pinkerton’ and ‘Only Child,’ musicality is punctuated by the mundane sputtering sprinklers, chirping crickets, and the sharp snap of a breaking plate.

The record serves as a bridge between two lives: Sperry’s upbringing in Utah, where pursuing the arts was viewed with skepticism (“Every Mormon is a dentist,” he jokes), and his current life in Brooklyn. Yet, the album refuses to look back in anger. Instead, Sperry treats his past with a trembling grace.

In an exclusive statement, Sperry reflects on the years-long gestation of the project:

“More than anything, ‘Nighttime at Gardner Hall’ represents a document of my life from age 19 to 25. Regardless of what happens, I’m proud of it as a monument to that time, and I feel proud of my younger self for making it.”

That sense of pride permeates the songwriting. On the standout single ‘For My Young Death,’ a tapestry of accordion, keys, and violin belies the heavy title, offering a moment of genuine peace amidst existential anxiety. It encapsulates Sperry’s lyrical philosophy: a rejection of bitterness in favor of “completed emotional trajectories.”

‘Nighttime at Gardner Hall’ is a transportive listen. It captures the sound of a young artist learning to breathe through his instrument…sometimes literally, as heard in the faint warble of a trumpet or the creak of a violin string. It is a document of solitude, but in sharing it, Port Ross ensures that no one has to be lonely in Gardner Hall again.