An album release from Jim Pearson hits a range of theatrical undertone soundscapes that all come from a certain place in the artist's life or so it feels, and each track has a way of bearing some personality and character and these are the kinds of things that you end up getting attached to as you go through the record.
The Death to Mortality LP is packed with certain surprises around the corners of the record but also has a lush and almost orchestrated songwriting approach at times that also incorporates a lot of full-bodied instrumentation like horns, organs, guitars, and more, and all of these things come together and end up creating a sort of atmosphere that becomes a part of the records staple feel.
One of my favorite aspects about this record is the energy level and the way that it feels when you listen to it because it's almost like part of these songs were recorded live on the floor, and I think that's due to the feeling of the instruments almost feeding off of each other.
This whole feeling makes the songs have a little bit of an alive and breathing tonality to them and I really like that because this also helps you pay attention not only to the song itself musically, but the lyrics as well because a lot of these tell stories from different perspectives.
Having said that, there is something that is connected throughout these songs which makes the record almost like a concept album of sorts and I enjoyed that aspect of it too.
This is only one of the reasons that I would strongly suggest listening to this record from beginning to end all the way through as opposed to just a few singles here and there although there are a handful of songs that stand out as singles to me.
This ends up being a little bit more of an experience than an album if you listen to the whole thing and I think that's kind of what it was meant for in a certain way.
A full album like this is something you can escape into especially because it's got a certain kind of feel to it and it grows on you very quickly because you start to pick up on the soundscape of the record right from the first or second track around.
Once you're in this atmosphere in this world you have escaped your reality, and you don't want to go back.
Part of this escape is this genuine honesty that you hear on the record a lot and some of these songs can be incredibly descriptive while they're being that honest, so it becomes relatable.
There's some experimental production here and there and a lot of attention to detail throughout the record but it never loses that heart or that character that it began in the first place, and this may be the most important part of it all.
A good chunk of this release stays away from your average sort of cookie-cutter formula in terms of songwriting, arrangement, composition, and pretty much everything else.
This is a little bit outside the box and because of how it's all built and put together it pushes the envelope ever so slightly enough for you to recognize that but the fun of it all is getting pulled into these songs and listening to the stories that are told, the characters that you're giving, and just sort of getting engulfed in the whole thing.
I would suggest listening to this record with headphones on because it's one of the best ways to do it and I'm sure that you have half an hour to go through this record which I can tell you is more than worth that time.