So I recently discovered SOHN through his very dope โHard Liquorโ video (which I featured in one of my last video roundups) and I was drawn to his electronic/pop mix and overall aesthetics. That lead me back to his debut albumย Tremors, which dropped a couple years back and I instantly became a fan. After running that album through itโs paces ten timesย over, I couldnโt wait to get a hold of his follow up,ย Rennen.
The production onย Rennen is fantastic. Itโs definitely more pop leaning electronic music but itโs got some serious skill behind it. For me, some electronic music can get very redundant but he manages toย bend all the modern synths and beats of EDM into refreshing new directions; in particular, thanks to his amazing ability to layer his own vocal samples into the instrumentation. Itโs really hypnotic stuff that had me vibing out on multiple occasions and for the production, there are a lot of surprisingly quiet, atmospheric moments throughout the album. โHard Liquorโ was the first song that drew me to SOHN with itโs hard hitting, hypnotic bass line that punches throughout the song. โConradโ has a cool southern blues vibe to it that somehow works with the synths and โFallingโ makes incredible use of his vocal samples and repetition. The whole album is just mesmerizing.
โHarbour, harbour
Bring me into your arms
Open, open
Your heart to a wanderer
Wake me, wake me
And Iโll be your doting son
Harbour, harbour
Save me from the open seaโ
I called SOHN pop but really heโs more akin to a weird modern approximation of blues. The whole affair is melancholy, from his delivery to lyrics, which creates a unique dichotomy between his production and vocals. The songwriting isnโt nearly as good as most blues music but itโs serviceable and his vocals, which are very good, are almost an extension of the production itself. This is one of the most unique and unexpected listens Iโve had since Woodkid and thatโs a very good thing.
Have you heardย Rennen? Whatโd you think about it? Whatโd you think about the way he used his own vocal samples in the production? Let me know in the comments below and be sure to leave your rating for the album.
