Although hailing from a singer-songwriter tradition, Sebastian Clarin’s current style couldn’t be more far removed. The synth pop dominant artist makes booming soundscapes, larger than life in scale and their grandeur. But embedded within this wildly different style of arrangement lies a much more simplistic and grounded approach to storytelling and narrative driven song-writing that blends his roots with his current work. Aerial Cuts’ is a dreary yet sparkling record. Both dark and lustful in its tone and mood, the electronic album from Sebastian Clarin highlights the singers rather baritone and deep voice alongside these glistening 80s inspired production chops. It has the kind of feeling that allows itself to function as something that could serve as a soundtrack for a rave while also being mournful at the same moment.
The entire record feels like an escapist fantasy, a kind of otherworldly expedition you’re embarking on without a clue or an idea of where the start or end really is. Songs like ‘Above Us, The Waving Moon’, feel like true gems that radiate sensations and visions of a space that’s so much more vivid and rife even in the depths of darkness and the night.
Sebastian Clarin stands out to me through his voice. There is a clear poetic quality to his delivery, a Cohen-esque style to the way he sings and the way he writes. Yet rather than a minimal and restrained backdrop, he flips the script with songs that feel so innately epic and humongous in scale. Truly, an album worth an exploration.