All The Unknown

There’s nothing finer then a musician that plays simply because they love to do it regardless of anything else. The Drowning Men consists of such musicians who are creators first and career musicians second. Now with their place on the Flogging Molly label Borstal Beat Records, The Drowning Men have found a home and the freedom to let their sound formulate into whatever it will be.

Their second full length release, All Of The Unknown, is a broody album that songwriter Nato Bardeen said was conceptual in trying to capture unique moments of feeling. The vocals do represent a lot of emotion, most notably a desperation in the execution that gives meaning the band name The Drowning Men. It all seems so panicked at times, desperate and forceful, then calm but still anxious. In any case the vocals have a personality all their own that makes you listen even when you find yourself falling into the music.

Sound wise I kept thinking of bands like U2, The Shivers, and even The Coral. There’s a whimsical presence in the panic that anchors the idea that Bardeen is a writer that has both found a way to exorcise his inner demons and also kind of just shrug at them as if saying, “Oh, you again huh. Let‘s do something with this.” Every song plays like a healed wound that’s scar is there to remind us of how fragile we can be leaving a phantom pain if only to remind us that we can survive all things but no matter how fast we run from the things that can hurt us, they can still hurt us. I think that just about sums up the idea of panic that I found on the album. I highly suggest checking it out and finding your own experience. Enjoy.