Jackson Vincent – Normal Tension (2022)
Using his self-dubbed ‘music for ghosts’, Jackson Vincent is using his second EP, Normal Tension, to delve into everything from love, loss and permanence, to self-discovery. The gloomy fusion of folk, rock and pop invites listeners into his sonic world, while imparting the sense that you are never truly alone, regardless of how much you feel you are. While inviting us into his sound, Vincent is pushing the borders of his music more than ever before across these six tracks.
Lyrically, he continues the story of the unreliable narrator introduced in his release, Foxtrot, while offering a forward journey through difficult times. Using the aftermath of a brutal breakup, the EP considers not fully understanding what you want or where you are in life, while endlessly moving forward on a journey of self-discovery. As his music drifts through the planes of reality and surrealism, he effortlessly captures you in his flow.
The EP opens with ‘Roving Soul’ and the sample vocal opening that sets the gloomy tone of the single. This transitions perfectly into Vincent’s vocals that have a delicate touch, yet sombre feeling. There is a resignation in the performance that squeezes your heart as he brings a bone-deep sadness to the song. While the vocals float on a sad and rather broody cloud, the melody carefully moves you forward. The beat stamps its way through the low levels, while the softer middle layers create a soft setting for you to sit back in. The overall gloominess of the single is actually really wonderful as it brings the heartache of the track to life and combines it with the listless floating of not knowing where you are going. Picking up from the moment after a brutal breakup, Vincent fills the track with sadness, heartbreak and wondering which way is forward.
‘Happiest’ takes the dark vibes of the EP to another level as it calls out to the shadows in your soul. The melody has a subdued darkness that swirls like a nebulous storm cloud before a touch of almost industrial beats hit out. Vincent’s vocals are quite different on this track as he weighs you down with the emotions of the track. From the depths of the darkness, the melody rises with the guitar bringing a strange detached lightness. It is like you are moving through molasses, trying to reach the light, only to constantly come up short. This is enhanced by the vocals that question why someone would end a loving relationship and take away the light in your life.
A light tone comes through the opening of ‘The Life’ with a twang of the guitar. The vocals continue this lighter touch, but retain their rather gloomy resignation to sadness. Through the lyrics, Vincent considers trying to move on and forget about the person you used to love. There is a lot of emotion in his performance that calls out to the broken pieces of your soul and taps into the loneliness you might not know you feel. It is an interesting song that looks for something bright, only to constantly be confronted with painful memories of what used to be. While there is a lot of sadness in this track, there is also the first glimmer of something brighter and more hopeful.
‘Old Dog’ has a warbling and slightly distorted opening that seems to come through time to hit you with the sample vocals. The tentative hope of the last track creeps into the vocals of this one, only to be tempered with the feeling of wanting to retreat from the sight of others. The music has this light tone that fills the upper layers and offers the bright glimmer of hope, while the beats slap you on the back, letting you know you can make it to the light. This track has a wonderful combination of emotion as you are hit with sadness and hope that swirls together into a churning pot of uncertainty. You are filled with the want to move forward, but there is a constant niggling at the back of your mind that is holding you back.
The soft movement of ‘Youth’ has you sitting back and relaxing. The vocals have a slight electronic edge that creates an almost echoing vastness to them. This perfectly matches the movement of the melody that seems to reach into the distance, opening a world of potential to you. While there is a still a touch of gloominess to the music, there is also a feeling that you can move past this. This is a rather hopeful single that gently fills you with the strength to fly far away from the source of the pain that has been holding you back. The overall softness of the track soothes the jagged edges of your heart letting you know that it can be mended and learn to love again.
The EP comes to an end with ‘Fine/Flame’ that uses an almost waltzing feeling to dance you into the track. As you prepare to leave the story of the EP, this track has you dancing in a suspended space between reality and surrealism. There is a feeling of a fine line that you are walking that could lead you back to the gloominess or toward the lightness of the piano line. It is a masterful arrangement that creates this bubble of glowing hope in your chest that trickles down the high piano notes. Vincent’s vocals carry a feeling of moving from the darkness into the light with a sense of awe and bliss. It is truly the best song to end the EP and take you out of the sadness of heartbreak.
Across the tracks of Normal Tension, Jackson Vincent moves from the gloomy, brooding darkness of heartache into a tentative space of light. Each track offers a progression in the path of healing from a brutal breakup, while touching on all the emotions that hold you back. From feeling like a lost soul to reaching out for the light of a new future, the EP is a stunning illumination of Vincent’s sound and musicality.
Find out more about Jackson Vincent on his website, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and Spotify.
