If any artist found their sound in 2020, it was Photon Tide. His recent effort Afterimage was the peak of his output so far, working with a single producer in Fony Wallace to deliver his most consistently great set of songs to date. But while many of Photon’s standout releases have revolved around the chemistry between artist and producer, on his newest EP Autumn he’s eschewing this in favour of releasing songs that (according to the project description on SoundCloud, at least) reflect the tough times that he’s going through.
Autumn really is aptly titled. Its release coincided with the Halloween season, of course, but it also genuinely sounds like a gloomy day where brown leaves coat the ground and the new life of spring is nowhere to be found. All three of these songs are lyrically dismal, with ‘Cigarettes’ in particular painting a grim picture of Photon’s mental state. The instrumental drones on in a funereal manner, the mournful electric guitars that help to close the song a perfect accompaniment to the cold emptiness that lyrics such as ‘Claiming to be happy just to see another day’ and ‘Only time I’m happy when I’m seeing black, on my back’ portray. Photon is clearly going through some shit, and I’m glad that music is an outlet for him to express the way that he’s feeling.
‘They Cant Kill Me’ is more defiant in tone, featuring an incredibly angry-sounding Photon speaking on thoughts of suicide and the death of his friends. ‘Funny how we take it for granted until we’re take away’ he screams mournfully over the ghostly bearxo production. Ultimately though, the rapper concedes that ‘They Cant Kill Me’, and states that ‘don’t wait, get it today, tomorrow is left with the hearses’. This extremely morbid imagery is juxtaposed by Photon’s desire to live, and to succeed in his chosen field. Although he’s evidently battling the demons of his past, the rapper is on an enormous winning streak right now and I can only hope that the next project we hear from him finds the artist more at peace with himself.
Check the project out in full below.
Follow Photon on Twitter here.
– Chris (@108seraph)
