Jackson Scribner is the lead vocalist, guitarist and plays the keys. Like his past albums, he’s joined by his brother Levi on the vocal harmonies, guitarist and bass. Scott Davis is on harmonica, Frankie Leonie adds additional vocal harmonies, and Kim Herriage is masterful on the pedal steel. The rhythm section is made up of Jeff Ryan on drums and Tony Hormillosa on bass. The album was produced, mixed and engineered by Stuart Sikes, with additional engineering and production by Jerome Brock and Levi Scribner respectively. It was recorded at Consolvo Studio in Dallas, TX and mastered by Dan Coutant of Sun Room Audio.
The way rain droplets slowly drizzle down a window, dissipating into a cascade of forgotten feelings – thats the sound of this album. Each track holds to the motif as the sadness in the songs is drenched in a waterfall of reverb. The notes are stretched and pulled and add an intentional depth of meaning to each of these songs. The musicians play in delicious harmonizations, lush sounds soaked in soft emotion that would make Mazzy Star blush.
The cyclical nature of music insists that a resistance to the normative sounds must occur. In his own manner, Jackson is doing just this. He’s bringing back an amalgamation from the mid 90’s that is much needed as a counter point to the “bro” sounds that dominate the airwaves. It’s different and unique and he puts his own polish and flair on it. From the first track, “Mr. Moon” to the last “Month After Month,” softly the sounds envelope and evolve while pulling on the heart strings in short snippets of verse.
The title track “Depression Kids” is one of the saddest. Lonely hallways, cars on a lone highway, the verse repeated like a reoccurring street that you thought you turned from. It doesn’t provide full narrative, and it’s not supposed to. These aren’t stories, they’re vignettes, the fleeting view in the windows of the cars passing us by, or the window scenes we see lit from an internal ethereal light when we walk by in the rain.
Perhaps thats the best descriptor for this album. It’s full of emotionality thats fleeting and held onto as a memory. It’s the perfect soundtrack for a rainy day. The production is exquisite throughout the album. The layers of sounds envelope and keep the collection of poetically rendered snippets tightly together. “There’s a white rain falling, where the electric current flows, but there’s something you’re not seein’, in the darkness that it holds.” The darkness brings out the beauty, the spark of life, the creative process, it lets you see the forest as well as the trees. This is an absolutely beautiful album from start to finish.
Jackson Scribner’s Depression Kids is available on all streaming platforms. It’s also available for direct download from his website: https://www.jacksonscribner.com
Enjoy our previous coverage here: Song Premiere: Jackson Scribner “Train Song”
Upcoming Show:
9/25 at Ferris Wheelers Backyard and BBQ in Dallas TX
