Music Review // Sukhmani "Here" (Spirit Voyage Records)

https://open.spotify.com/album/6I5ukhMYa30EDI6TYtw5Mi

When listening to the EP "Here" by Sukhmani I can't but think about how this whole sound just has such a unique voice and in that way it just feels so special.  A lot of what you take from these songs in terms of their sound will be more of a reflection of what music has influenced you than the music of Sukhmani directly because of how this has that sound which feels like something modern and on the radio right now- a Taylor Swift or Lana Del Rey type of feel if you're me- but at the same time it isn't exactly like anyone else and is open to that interpretation.  

With brooding melodies, Sukhmani captures what it's like simply to exist with problems we call life but don't often talk about.   On the first song- "Everybody's Best Friend"- the line "I guess I'm everybody's best friend except my own" hits hard because it feels like a lot of people (myself included) have that mindset of not wanting to feel selfish and so they put others before themselves and end up taking care of friends, family, whatever but not taking care of themselves.  I always like to think of it in airplane safety where mothers are instructed to put breathing devices on themselves before on the babies but thinking and doing can be quite different.

Beats are present throughout most of these songs, giving it that looming electronic feel, but it also just stays at a certain tempo to make it feel rather chill throughout as well.   "Divination" is a great song to listen to as a mantra of sorts, with the lines "And when I see it / I will know" helping you to trust your instincts.  "Not Your Exotic" has some distinct electronics and percussion while the titular track can grow to be quite intense.  I also really enjoy the lyrics "You made it / you're meant to be here" because it's validation simply for being alive, and in a sense of way of saying you've made it this far so keep going as well.

Perhaps on the final song, "Changes", we hear the best of the beats and harmonies in vocals which just give Sukhmani a voice unlike any other.   I have this trio of artists that I listen to more than any others in a mainstream way and they are Taylor Swift, Demi Lovato and Lana Del Rey.  Sukhmani has all of the qualities to be among those three artists as a peer, on the radio, and yet also to remain in that class where if you hear a Sukhmani song right away you know who the artist responsible for it is.