Sinkane - Depayse

Sinkane is unique in that he is one of few artists that has a real, tangible stake in our current cultural and political climate, and it shows in the music. For the new album Dépaysé (a French word meaning “to be removed from one’s habitual surroundings.”) Ahmed Gallab didn’t just write a few protest songs in the style of the familiar Sinkane sound. Rather, you can FEEL the difference, the change that has taken place in the art. The falsetto of the earlier records is almost entirely gone in favor of an aggressive, clearly stated tenor. There is almost nothing in the lyrics that is ambiguous or even difficult to understand, and even the music’s poppier moments are confrontational and bombastic. And while the new album is reflective of what the band has become musically, a wild raging force to be reckoned with live, it is at its heart about what real frustration feels like and what real change could require. It is by far the most personal, direct, unfiltered and raw Sinkane album.