It’s been a few years since Tennessee’s Sinai Vessel released an album, but today marks a return for the project – this time as a Caleb Cordes solo venture. He has announced the release of a new album called Ground Aswim on October 30, and today shares the track “Guest In Your Life”. Cordes says:
“‘Guest In Your Life’ was a song written while I was in a romantic partnership and processing that partnership’s hypothetical end. It’s a song about how strange it can be to negotiate dissolving a relationship — no matter how much the two parties love and respect one another (as was the case in this partnership), there’s still a “break”, still pain and confusion in recognizing that what “is” falls short of what you imagined it could be. It’s also a song about trying to care warmly for a friend, and trying to see one another through parsing that pain.”
Given that Sinai Vessel is now a solo project, it’s unsurprising that “Guest In Your Life” is a stripped-back number, finding Cordes on guitar accompanied by spare percussion from drummer Andrew Stevens and some subtle beds of golden sound running underneath. This minimalism is the perfect canvas for “Guest In Your Life”, allowing Cordes’ inner monologue to stand true and honest as he sifts through regrets and hopes for a peaceful resolution. There is an undeniable warmth in his words and voice, regardless of the fact that it’s about a breakup, and this wistfulness is enhanced as the song seems ready to explode like a previous Sinal Vessel song, but instead relaxes into a bed of pedal steel as he comes to a place of acceptance.
Sinai Vessel’s new album Ground Aswim is out on October 30 and can be pre-ordered from the band’s Bandcamp. Find Sinai Vessel on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
