The last year has been a whirlwind to say the least; learning to adjust to the pandemic while simultaneously being shocked and awed by the state of the world has been stressful for everyone. thomTide's year wasn't much different from the rest of us, with the prime exception being his ultra-ambitious passion project of chronicling the seasons through song, scoring the rise and fall of his emotional journey with the preternatural sonic acumen of Vivaldi; or Blood Orange; or whoever he wants to channel in that particular week. In his genre-shirking, all-encompassing masterpiece we've learned deep and innate truths from the San Diego-based visionary. This cyclical story reaches its natural end (and beginning) today with the beautifully sanguine "mySakura".
"mySakura" is a warm and tender farewell to the listener while its final notes bleed perfectly back into the start of "redBrocket" to complete a perfect cycle of sound. Silky guitar pairs with the careful crooning of thomTide to create a melancholy and hauntingly beautiful track that builds to a powerful crescendo as it realizes that end is just a new beginning, a chance for the powerful journey of thomTide to pick you back up again on your next play through. It's a track meant to be pondered just as much as it's meant to be thoughtlessly digested; a fitting sendoff to the audio-cinematic odyssey of love and loss that has consumed the artist's 12-month discography.
The track is accompanied by a cinematic and sweeping Summer visual (co-directed by Giles Perkins and Jacob Lowy) that sees its protagonist chase after love while battling the physical and metaphorical, all set to thomTide's Summer collection. Pairing with the terminus of his music is also the brilliant final mural that his collective cover arts (all the work of acclaimed visual artist Dominique Mills) come together to illustrate. It's a remarkable feat as the San Diego artist's thoroughly ambitious creative vision comes together in an exaltation of sound and form to deliver one of the most spectacular and moving sendoffs for any project this year.
Music, in its purest form, should take you somewhere. Through thomTide's affected and visceral journey of rising and falling emotions, we are left feeling breathlessly displaced while simultaneously more sure of our path than ever before. It's an emotional rollercoaster of heaving ethos, one that grabs hold and doesn't let go until long after the ride has terminated. Although thomTide's bi-weekly releases may be completed for the foreseeable future, you should stay tuned for what he still has in store; namely with future seasonal visuals still in the offing.
Connect with thomTide: Spotify | Apple Music | YouTube | Instagram | Twitter
