You know what's cool about Canada? Everything. Drake, The Weeknd, and universal health care, and now Sean Blackthorn. This 20-year-old from Toronto isn't making waves yet, but I think he will be soon. With a self-purported mixtape dropping this summer and three singles under his belt, it's time to keep an eye for more out of this poised, elegant, Weeknd-like artist. Let's get started.
"[One] Night" is Mr. Blackthorn's most recent single, released in early April. Without a beat, the dense chords from a wetttt piano and lush vocal harmonies flesh out the soundscape until a metallic (see: loud) drop at 1:50 provides the scaffold, and then you can't imagine the song without its pinging snare and echoing bass drum. Of course Mr. Blackthorn's vocals are what it's all about, which leads us to "The Spirits."
This is one of those songs you can only listen to with headphones on. Recorded in a church? Maybe. A bathroom? More likely. I'm bad at vocal descriptions sometimes but here goes: like his voice has been simmering in codeine and choked back screams, arguments he never got to have, so he's singing quiet, because then you have to listen. Don't judge. Now, on to "Hymns & Questions."
His earliest track (released Valentine's Day) is something you have to decide on for yourself. I'm not even going to bother deciphering it, 'cause I'll do it wrong. The story is: go download all of this music, follow Mr. Blackthorn on Twitter, and "like" him on Facebook. Peace. Enjoy.
