Devin Sinha - Our Fathers Were Lions (Self-Released)
Add Date: 09/19
Focus Tracks: 9, 8, 3, 4 & 11
FCC: Clean
Format: Americana, AAA
Artist Info: On Our Fathers Were Lions, Seattle, WA songwriter Devin Sinha has grown into the compositional and lyrical force hinted at on 2016’s Our Past and Present Futures. Sinha crafts elegantly structured songs from a carefully chosen sonic palette which confidently unroll at their own pace, lifting you along with them. Precise, deceptively complex arrangements wrap themselves around the core of the melody, giving the record an airy breadth and filling it with a profound sense of space.
The record swings and sways; Sinha is as at ease moving through soaring broad-stroke strumming over propulsive rhythm as he is with plaintive strings and delicate finger picked guitar; all anchored by a voice as deep and clear as the high mountain lakes about which he sings. “In almost all of my songwriting, I approach lyrics and the outline of a melody separately from the fuller arrangements” explains Sinha. “While some songs on this album came naturally, with others I spent months in revision trying to eke out the right melodies.”
Lyrically, while previous work dealt primarily with interpersonal relationships, Our Fathers Were Lions moves through the realms of nature, the work of the artist, and traditional narrative storytelling. “I still really enjoy writing songs that discuss relationships” laughs Sinha, “yet most listeners might not notice that I’ve broadened my subject matter. I often anthropomorphize the subject I’m writing about. It might seem that all the songs are about human affairs when in fact that isn’t the case.”
An expertly crafted, cohesive album by an artist who has become truly comfortable in his work, Our Fathers Were Lions delivers a deeply satisfying experience to the listener, and promises great things from a long career to come. “These songs are my passion” says Sinha. “I think that shines through in this record.”