Max Cruise - Sunrises
Review by Karl Magi
Overalll Album Impressions
Max Cruise’s Sunrises brings together talented performers with strong songwriting, perfectly judged nostalgia, and beautiful melodies to create music full of life and soul. When one adds in the jazz-inflected solos and the clear enthusiasm with which all of the performers approach the album, the result, in my mind, is magic.
I can't say enough good things about all of the musical performances on Sunrises. Max Cruise plays the saxophone with assurance, soul, and emotional depth, while Cam Blokland’s guitar work is expressive, intricate, and genuine. Pat DiMeo, Alessandra Gonzalez, and Shaun Holton each bring their own distinctive and powerful vocal abilities to bear on the album. Taken together, the result is moving and impressive.
Sometimes nostalgia is the most dangerous thing to play with in music. If one judges it wrongly, it comes off as contrived and cloying, but Sunrises hits the mark. There's a sense of warmth for times past, leavened by a sense that this is all rose-tinted memory. However, the music embraces that soft-focus remembrance and gives it emotional weight as the album unfolds.
The melodies and solos on Sunrises are another integral part of the album's success. Expressive beauty fills the melodic writing on the album, and the solos reflect the individual performers’ interpretations of the album's musical themes. When these two components come together, they create an affecting and lyrical whole.
I also enjoy the way in which the synths are layered on the album. They create another level of musical depth and give the album a textured and ear-catching complexity for which I have a great deal of appreciation. They make the music come alive even more.
My Favourite Tracks Analyzed
"Sunrises" comes into being as a warm synth sweep is cut into by a deeply expressive sax performance by Max Cruise calling out with sincere longing. Shaun Holton's voice captures the same fervent, needy emotion in a slowly trembling melody above rebounding drums and undulating bass.
Glittering synth echoes out as the drums flourish, while Shaun Holton lets loose with a powerfully emotional performance. The sax has a directly engaging ability to elicit emotion in a way that I enjoy. Shaun Holton's vocals have a pained quality as they shiver through the music, carrying the caressing melody.
Full-sounding notes ring out on a bell-like synth, the melody gentle and calming. The drums rebound, and now Shaun Holton's voice climbs with melancholy as chimes add a starlit shimmer. Max Cruise’s sax howls with piercing emotion, driving home the song’s expression of need and desire.
Powerful drums support an lushly woven sax solo, the sax intertwining in a thoughtful improvisation, adding to the lyrics' emotional power. I enjoy the solo’s freedom and unbridled emotion. Shaun Holton's voice soars along with the sax, doubling up on the impact of the song before it comes to an end.
The narrator says that "my heart is lonely tonight and it really don't feel right" because the song's subject knows he's been waiting for them. There isn't anything left for them to say because the other person just turns away. "You know that it's something I can't get used to." He wonders why it hurts so much and why he gets depressed when “I know you don't want me,” but his “foolish heart won't set me free.”
Our storyteller says that "the sun rises, no surprises" because everything's just the same as it was before. He still wants the other person, but they are uninterested. He says that he can't force the song subject, and he wouldn't want to. He adds that "the way you feel, I just can't deal," even though people tell him “there's more fish.” All he can see is an empty ocean. He says that it's just him and asks, "Who do I want to be?”
Massive drums pound along with gliding sounds and slowly pulsing, gleaming notes as the sax trembles to kick off “Midnight Racer”. The drums flourish, and the angular synth pulse is broken into by Max Cruise’s lyrical sax. It glides with easy-going motion, full of earnest feeling as the drums and bass undulate underneath.
Chimes add star-like light, and bell-like synths ring out. Now the sax skims along with smoothly unfurling dynamism, spinning out over a throbbing low end. The sax cries out with impassioned life, the melody full of bursting energy. The playing is silky smooth and confident in a way I find compelling. Max Cruise’s sax cries out with ardent yearning and Cam Blokland’s guitar unwinds with a powerfully affecting melody, unfolding in intricate lines.
The drums flourish and press on as Max Cruise solos with true skill, capturing propulsive energy and the feeling of streetlights rushing by. The solo is ear-catching and complex. Now the guitar and the sax mingle in one rush of lush sound, climbing up with a feeling of speeding down empty streets.
I can picture the blurring rush as the car explodes down empty asphalt. Cam Blokland solos with crying, bending intricacy as it spins and flies above the pulsing low end. The guitar’s accelerative sensation pushes the music forward before it fades out on the sax echoing into space.
"Heart on Fire" opens as glistening chimes flow above colossal drums that punch in a slow beat along with deep bass and the guitarist's smooth sound. Cam Blokland’s guitar brings peace as Pat DiMeo’s voice slips out in smooth, expressive lines that carry a melancholy melody. The chiming notes rise as Pat DiMeo's voice wrings out every bit of emotion from the lyrics.
The drums rebound, and the chorus glimmers as the guitar flickers past while the drums and bass throb weightily. Pat DiMeo's voice has the ability to press home the feelings captured within the words. I enjoy Pat DiMeo's soulful performance here. Cam Blokland’s guitar illuminates the track with softly surrounding sound as the massively pulsing drums and bass shape the music.
The chimes have a tenderness as the vocals soar with emotional power and affection. The drums flourish, and Max Cruise’s sax carries a solo that shines with the same emotive depth as the lyrics and vocals. It climbs with leaping energy and deep feeling before the song falls silent.
Our storyteller is in "the shadow of a city that was built on faded dreams," on streets that "creep and whisper," where nothing is as it appears. He says that when he's lost in the darkness and feeling as if he could go insane, he sees "a fire in the night; you're my guiding light," and with the song's subject, he can always find a way out.
The song subject’s love is "like a flame that never fades away" for the narrator. He can see in their eyes an undying love and a "burning gaze that sets my heart on fire." In the shadowy, lonely city, the other person gives him "hope when there is fear" as his world falls apart around him.
Our storyteller says that looking into the song subject’s eyes makes him feel like flying. They "lift me up when I am down" and embrace him when he cries. The other person is "just like the morning star, rising higher and higher." The other person turns the darkness into light and sets his heart aflame.
Smoothly lapping synth moves with chimes like sunlit glass, echoed by a more richly toned synth to commence "Runaway." Sparkling notes trip through the music as the bass undulates and Alessandra Gonzalez’s voice slips into the music with gentle expression. The melody she carries is fragile and touching as her voice rises along with ringing jazz organ chords adding brightness.
The drums and bass jump in an energetic pulse as Alessandra Gonzalez brings strength and expression to her voice while the chimes glitter with delicate illumination. The drums and bass rebound with strength and shaping energy. Alessandra Gonzalez imbues the vocals with energy and feeling, carrying the melody, which gains an uplifting quality.
The guitar comes in with a solo that bursts with more feeling, intensifying the emotions expressed in the lyrics. Alessandra Gonzalez fills her voice with heartfelt strength as it arcs into the song and captures the mood it tries to express. Max Cruise’s sax howls with the reedy expression that only a sax possesses.
Max Cruise drives home the song’s feeling of need with the skillful application of his talent while Cam Blokland uses his own talented fingers to let loose a solo that feels celebratory and joyful while Alessandra Gonzalez carries the song out with her undeniably ear-catching voice.
The narrator says that even "hidden in the darkness, locked away from sight," she can hear the whispering that echoes in the night. She adds that she is in a serious situation, imprisoned in her mind. She is "held captive by emotion and taunted by desire.” She wants to run away with the song subject to "cross that line" if she wants to run away with the other person.
The storyteller finds herself "lost at sea without an anchor," confronting many path shipwrecks. When she sailed past a siren, "she just stared at me and laughed.” In her serious situation, entrapped in her mind, she says that she has to "find a key to break out and leave all this behind.”
"Dark Clouds" begins with tranquil synth, crystalline bells, and softly touching drums supported by a rich bass upwelling. An unctuously flowing synth carries a wistful and dreamy melody as trickling notes flit through the background and the bass pulses. The melody reaches out with gently touching emotion, and the drums come in to add shape.
Limpid arpeggios ripple past with aquatic smoothness as the bass surrounds me. Broad-sounding, rough-edged synth carries an aching melody full of gentleness, touched with shadow. The glimmering synth in the background shines, and watery notes float past. Max Cruise's sax captures the music’s tender emotion and translates it into a layered solo that perfectly encapsulates the song's mood. His skill on the sax is indisputable, and his performances have true soul.
The big drums continue to throb, and the sax leaps out, piercing right to the emotional heart of the track. The low end continues to add support as the sax skips through the music with intense feeling. The track ends on the liquid synth and glittering chimes, along with the hugely pulsing low end and a sax flourish.
Scintillating synth carries a soothing melody out above a rippling background to commence "Unfair Love." The guitar doubles the chiming synth with rich backing, and Shaun Holton pours out vocals with silk, tones, and deep feeling. The melody is yearning and affecting as the chorus chants in the background.
A lithe synth accompanies Shaun Holton's powerfully expressive voice, and the guitar adds similarly hard-hitting expression. The drums and bass rebound with guiding strength, and the vocals in the chorus are full of emotion. Cam Blokland’s guitar cries out with a heartbreaking feeling as the drums rebound and the bass throbs. Shaun Holton’s voice soars, and Max Cruise's sax adds more emotional layers.
The chorus is chanted, and Shaun Holton gives free rein to his feelings as the guitar twists and cries to the sky with touching sensations. The guitar somersaults through the music with smooth intricacy, and the track ends with the vocals drifting out above the guitar and drums.
The song's narrator asks, "How can you say that love is not fair?" because it was never meant to be that way. He adds that it's hard to believe "that we came from there" as everybody says what they thought it was.
Our storyteller wants to know why people stay when nobody's there. He wants to know what they feel and why they care. He continues by saying that he knows "how it can feel like nothing is real."
The narrator points out that when everything's said and done, "we're free to the sky above," and things will never come to an end.
"Azure" begins with tranquil chimes echoed by Max Cruise’s mellow sax as rounded, glowing notes flow out. The sax grabs hold of my ears as the luscious notes roll around them and pull me into the music. Chimes flash and the percussion adds a smoothly ticking shape as electric bass twins to add support.
The sax flows out with punchy, intricately intertwined notes and a full tone. The chimes sparkle again, and Max Cruise pours out his soul through the sax as string-like notes trickle. The drums are powerful and full sounding, with metallic synth moving out. The sax solo is complex and played with deep skill, weaving an emotional tapestry as it howls out over the pulsing low end.
I enjoy the way in which the sax puts me in touch with the music’s expressive centre. The drums rebound again and ringing synth flickers before the sax carries the plaintive melody through the music. The track ends with the bass moving along with rippling xylophone-like arpeggios and clapping percussion.
Conclusion
Sunrises is an emotional and musical journey for me as a listener. It captures a time and place effectively while exploring love, loss, and the past. There's nostalgia, but it's a nostalgia tempered by freshness and obvious musical passion. All of these factors make this an album I could listen to many times and not get tired of hearing.
