A stirring debut formed by survival and self-discovery, Songs From A Secret Room finds Colorado-based singer-songwriter Chris Rusin reworking a interval of profound adversity into compelling artistry. Written after shedding — and finally regaining — his voice throughout chemotherapy, the album displays the renewal that comes from confronting fragility and rediscovering function. Joined by Katie Smart and a proficient ensemble of Colorado musicians, Rusin channels his expertise into an affecting mix of people and Americana.
Amongst the album’s many highlights, “Flower” weaves a heartrending vocal duet — comprising Rusin and Smart — with memorable instrumentation, spanning from pedal metal to cello. “Now I’m aiming to carry you, however I really feel out of vary,” they let loose, pairing palpable craving with acknowledgements of change. “I held you want a flower,” they proceed right into a hovering refrain, depicting winter’s barren terrain although with one’s lovely, flower-like state shining via all of it. Strings enter the combination because the vocals proceed to immerse, artfully capturing the power to search out love regardless of life’s obstacles.
The standard songwriting additionally exhibits on the “Cinders,” channeling a extra solemn folks mystique because the harmonious vocal layering furthers its precision. Smart’s magnetic vocal accompaniments, including a combination of serene and ardency, bolster Rusin’s regular tone with spine-tingling qualities. “Nonetheless I flip to you,” he sings, rapidly bolstered by Smart’s “the trail I didn’t take” chilliness. “We’re burned by the cinders,” they then mix, invigorating with reflections of affection’s tendency to depart its contributors burned.
Additionally enamoring is “Time to Love,” a young success that’s particularly private in conveying Rusin’s thought course of throughout an particularly troublesome Christmas — with chemotherapy and restoration on his thoughts. As he watches his kids sleep restfully and appreciates his life as it’s, he sings “we’re so near being completely happy” — displaying how the specter of most cancers looms massive, even throughout moments of bliss. Expressions of being again dwelling, with frozen landscapes round, pair with a lonesome state — utilizing practice imagery and “used to dream” sentiments to ruminate on each the previous and the striving to be optimistic about an unsure future. “I used to dream of affection I’d discover in time, now I dream of discovering time to like,” he sings, eloquently capturing how time feels much more finite when confronted with health-related hardships.
Rusin’s penchant for riveting songwriting continues constantly all through. “The Darkish” envelops in its lyrical prowess, interchanging darkish walks of uncertainty with extra optimistic “step into the sunshine” aura. Coronary heart-tugging strings and the duet-ing vocals stir in positioning love as a purpose to cherish life and maintain combating, whereas acknowledging the potential of it rising chilly. “I misplaced you to the darkish in the long run. You had been my greatest pal,” they lament, exuding a state of issues being over — whilst each hope for it to maintain going.
One other standout comes by way of album finale “Preventing For,” a piano-set balladry that ponders each renewal and overcoming, feeling like a cathartic send-off to an album that compels in its themes of perseverance and love, as each vocalists proclaim “the one factor price combating for is love.” With Songs From A Secret Room, Rusin enthralls along with his consuming songwriting — turning experiences of ache, perseverance, and love into a completely memorable output.
