A Personal And Thought Provoking Album from Sinker John
An album release from Sinker John brings out a very unique breed of honesty with descriptive, detailed, emotionally bound, and at times, very relatable lyrics.
The record reaches into certain aspects of youth and struggles and lets loads of inner thoughts spill out. Sometimes, these are in the form of stories told from certain perspectives; others can be more straightforward.
The Rise I'll definitely seems like a personal one, and it felt like each song was like a chapter in the artist's life.
This was very in-depth and had a lot of layers to it, which was incredibly fun to peel back, and this is absolutely one of those albums that you listen to in full.
This is not just because of the stories or interconnection between certain tracks. This is because of the music as well.
Listening to one or two songs from this record will not give you the full spectrum of what the album has to offer as a whole.
This is an experience. It is an escape that pulls you away from whatever you are doing and puts you in someone else's world for a time.
The record does have elements of connectivity, and it almost doesn't matter who you are for that to work.
These songs are indeed relatable and told from, again, those very personal perspectives that let you understand that these are completely authentic and based on real thoughts, experiences, and certain kinds of struggles.
There is always the light at the end of the tunnel throughout the record. This is part of its sentiment. Having that light at the end of the tunnel. Knowing that struggles and experiences always come to an end like anything else, good or bad.
Having hope in the sentiment of the album is imperative to getting the message across. This is a record that feels like it was cathartic for the artist to write and release.
The music of the record goes through phases. There is plenty of beautifully constructed guitar work with thick layers of rich tonality that come through with a smoothness and flow that pulls you in like a wave in the ocean.
There are others that feel a little bit more indie rock oriented. Some of them have a little bit more drive. There are acoustic and electric guitars involved.
The title track of the record is one of the most impressive of all of them. As the first track, it introduces you to the sentiment and premise of everything but also gives you a feel for the blend of songwriting styles you can expect throughout the album.
"Rise" presents itself with clean and acoustic guitars that have a vastness in their undertone. But then things get heavier and edgier, and the moods change and fluctuate throughout the song along with the intensities.
Then you have songs like "Beneath The Stars", which is like reminiscing in a strange way. It is gorgeous and invites you to drift alongside its soundscape and eventually get washed away with it. This one is beautifully constructed and orchestrated as it builds a bit bigger and bigger as it unfolds.
Other songs like this are strewn throughout the record and give a very cinematic effect.
One of my favorite tracks on the record, "Bleed Like the Bone", feels like you're listening to a track off of an edgy western film.
That vastness is still there, but the guitars are heavier and pack more punch.
A driving set of guitar tones drenched in reverb and a bit of a tremolo effect give this song that classic western and vintage cinematic feel.
These kinds of attributes are not just thrown together. This was an album that was well thought out, and there was obviously a lot of attention to detail paid throughout its creation; however, it never loses track of that character throughout the entire thing.
Still, this seems to be the most important factor for me. These are the things that you hold on to, no matter what the soundscape is like throughout the album.
I love how the guitar tones change and how each song has little bits and pieces of the artist embedded in them.
"God Damn" is another must hear song because of how incredibly detailed the lyrics are.
This is one of the songs that paint vivid pictures for you to see as you're listening to the track.
It's in classic folk style and does an outstanding job of showcasing how Sinker John can lyrically phrase his wording in a way that hits you with an undeniable impact.
Again, I urge you to listen to this record in full; from start to finish. There's no other way to really do it because that, in my opinion, is what this record is meant for.
You're meant to really soak it all in as a whole.
I also think you should listen to this with headphones on. Again, there are so many layers and textural boundaries that are broken. Listening to it with headphones is one of the best ways not to miss any of those textures and layers.
Quite a beautiful and personal record from Sinker John.
Take a deep dive into this one and let these songs swim around in the air that surrounds you. Let them paint those pictures for you and get a glimpse into who the artist is through these stories.
Remember where you heard it first.
