Steven Battelle, recently of LostAlone, is a singer,
musician, and songwriter who released his first solo album, Exit Brain Left, this year. I am reviewing him after he was
recommended by Ray Toro.
Initially my favorite track was "Steven
Battelle", with its captivating beat and almost island feel. It was the
first time I had seen a musician have a song with their own name, but LostAlone
did have an eponymous song as well.
Things started coming together when I found the lyrics.
Referencing fear, and enduring despite it, having the music sound so optimistic
makes the song a celebration of life. Having it named after Battelle himself
makes it deeply personal. This is his triumph.
Except it is only track 3. It comes after "Powers
of Denial" and "The Jump", but then there is still much to come,
with the final track being "I'm Still Finding out Who I'm Going to
Be".
That's more realistic. As freeing as it can be to
move forward in one part of your life (like spending time as a solo artist),
and as much as there are moments of euphoria along the way, then there are new
challenges, and new needs to silence doubts and gather courage. As much as you
learn who you are, there can be many facets of that identity left to explore.
That resonated with me personally. I don't claim a
perfect understanding - I don't even want to speculate about how "A
Christmas Cartel" fits in - but it makes me want to wish Battelle well on
his journey. Given that, it feels like this could be a good album for people
working on self-discovery or pondering life changes.
For LostAlone fans, you will probably find the album
more experimental (and in some ways more intimate) than the band working
together, but for all of their tracks with musical layers building together in
majestic strength, they had a lot of songs that explored different types of
sound as well.
"Steven Battelle" is still a favorite, but
"Nine Miles of Light" has a similar feeling of inspiration, "The
Ocean Chorus" has a kind of dreamy beauty, and I think you will enjoy the
hard guitar in "Last Night on Earth".
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