Sulkin’ Raven’s Sprawling Un-Pop Synth Pop Song is an Engine For Turning Anxiety Into Melancholic Beauty

SulkinRaven1_sm — Sulkin’ Raven, photo courtesy the artist

Sulkin’ Raven’s “Run” has a melodic progression that turns on a fine emotional line like you’re moving headlong forward while scenes and experiences stream by you as though you’re the one doing the running from awkward situations and failures. The chiptune synths toward the end of the song mixed with the dreamlike tone of the composition is reminiscent of something Depreciation Guild might have done and with the same melancholic and surreal overtones but darker in a way. The song feels like the soundtrack to a new Inio Asano graphic novel but one that ends inconclusively rather than in the sinister places Asano sometimes takes his work. Even though the beat is consistent throughout with an even pace it serves as the song’s anchor and the dynamic qualities are found in the expressive guitar work in sync with dispassionate but introspective vocals and beautifully composed synth lines that take you to an otherworldly place that you’d rather be than trapped in a place in your head that seems to make everything impossible. In the end the song strikes one as a vehicle for using imagination and creativity to transform the energy of emotional paralysis and self-loathing into something productive. Listen to “Run” on Soundcloud and follow Sulkin’ Raven at the links below.