A Very Personal Full Length Album from The Victim
- BuzzSlayers
- 24 hours ago
- 4 min read
The new album from The Victim has arrived, and the record really boasts a lot of honesty in the form of songs that blend everything from folk to Americana, indie rock, and this beautiful and boisterous cinematic backbone that just lets the record flow naturally.
This is an album with a lot to say, and you can tell that the artist put his all into it. He doesn't really hold back in terms of lyrics and definitely gets pretty personal.
Songs like 'Still Raising Shadows" dig pretty deep into that persona and showcase how the artist doesn't really hold much back when he's trying to get things off of his chest.
It's songs like this one that let the record breathe. It lets you understand that this is something that's purely a passion project and that he really needed to write this record for himself, although the songs are still very relatable to a lot of people.
Tracks like this one hit me pretty hard, and I think it's because of how straightforward he can be lyrically. He gets very descriptive and paints great pictures as you listen through to certain tracks, and that's something that leaves an impact.
"Blame" is another track that gets pretty personal as he tells his story, but this one has a beautifully vast soundscape to it. He's able to really create bigger-sounding atmospheres utilizing guitars and keys. This one is one of the more cinematic tracks on the record, and I definitely got sort of pulled into this one quickly and easily.
He's able to really craft sound beautifully. He has a lot to say on the record, but the songs that he writes in terms of instrumentation, progressions, and composition all do an amazing job of acclimating a brilliant mood to those lyrics so that everything sort of syncs together.
"California" was one of the most impactful and descriptive tracks in terms of those lyrics. This one you have to listen to, without question. It really has this deepening sound to it. Very cinematic, once again, and that's because it's got these sorts of swelling instruments that are in the background, creating a distant but deepening sensation.
This one was beautifully folk-oriented, and you can still hear some of that southern tonality in the performance, which is why it walks the line between Americana and folk some of the time.
"The Sign Like My Mother" is a gorgeous piece of work that expresses a lot, and again, he just gets into such amazing detail lyrically. These songs are the kind of tracks that are like diary entries.
It's almost like a concept record, but not. The songs do go together, but again, they're more like these personal entries and stories told from his life, with a perspective that is connective because of the way he articulates his lyrics.
It's a very deep record with a lot to hold on to, which I found quite beautiful.
It's a bit vulnerable, but that's the name of the game. This is a record that he's expressing a lot on. It's okay to be vulnerable when you're writing music that has so much emotion involved.
I would listen to this whole thing in one shot. Skipping songs doesn't really make a lot of sense here.
Homebound is a release meant to be soaked in from start to finish so that you can get the full journey. That's exactly what this album is; it's a journey through parts of the artist's life, and when you take that Journey with him, you understand him more as a person.
You might even understand yourself more as a person. Those sentiments are so genuine. The whole record is insanely authentic, and you can't help but have memories of your own sort of flow through your brain as you're listening to the songs.
Now, they don't all do this, but a lot of them have this kind of impact on listening. Or, at least they had that kind of impact on me when I listened.
You want to have that sensation of an authentic approach when you listen to an album like this one. It's so engulfing and alluring by way of the stories being told and the incredibly swallowing sounds that he creates.
Not everything is folk or Americana, though. Some of this stuff is very classic rock-influenced. Some of this stuff has more upbeat and bright-feeling songs, like "This Town", which does have a brighter sound, but still gives you all the same personal attributes that the rest of the songs do.
Even when he's giving you something more upbeat, more rock-oriented, more pop-coated, you're still getting all that personality and storytelling.
This is all part of why the record is worth a listen. It branches off into different areas, but always has stories to tell, and in the end, you walk away with those intact.
So, listen to this album and you'll get an idea for exactly where I'm coming from with it.
Remember where you heard it first.
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