SHRINK is the project of twenty-two-year-old Sam Breathwick, also known as the hotly tipped producer Vasser. His debut EP is an ode to the unconditional love you can show someone in their low periods. Talking about the forthcoming EP, Sam said; “I wrote the majority of this EP about and from the perspective of my brother, seeing him slip into several lows because of depression, medication and misdiagnosis. It put a lot of strain on my parents and resulted in the atmosphere at home being pretty bad. It really tested my parents but their care for him was what got him to some form of stability again, showed me a lot of what it means to show unconditional love.”
This extended play opens with ‘Cut You Loose’ a cathartic track about removing someone from your life when a relationship ends. It`s quite a dreamy ambient offering which has some distant breathless backing sighs as occasional guitar chords and a shuffling drum machine beat and synth swathes allow a platform for the slightly distorted questioning vocals to float atop. A wonderfully hypnotic track to begin on. There`s a trippy soul vibe to ‘Drowning’ which was written from the perspective of Sam`s brother and what it was like for a demise of a relationship to take over like a wildfire. It has a delightful down tempo texture with complementing harmonies and sways along with acoustic and off kilter guitar chords adding to the overall feel.
`Memory Man` is a much more melancholic electro composition that has a lot going on. It adds some slightly contorted vocals part way through but retains a quite soothing atmosphere throughout. A sort of sadness can be detected in Sam`s delivery on `Rodeo` which flows along with an overall air of sadness. A stunning trumpet or brass instrument augments it`s tones to the latter section and gives the piece an overwhelming sense of sorrow.
This release closes with `Eraser` which Sam wrote about the unconditional care his mum showed his brother during his lows. It`s a stripped back piece initially with an acoustic guitar and vocals that gains some momentum when keys and strings are added. A marvellously heartfelt tribute that i`m sure will make his mom proud.
There was much to enjoy with SHRINK`s debut EP. Understandably due to the subject matter most of the tracks are a little downbeat but vocally and musically there`s so much to appreciate. Sam Breathwick is a real talent and it`ll be interesting to see how his journey progresses.
This EP is a thoughtful, sincere, and honest personal account of a difficult time and well worth a listen.
Rating 8 / 10
