The Agony of Loss and Lack of Closure is Embodied in Alex Henry Foster’s Harrowing “Summertime Departures”

AlexHenryFoster3_crop — Alex Henry Foster, photo courtesy the artist

“Summertime Departures,” the title, sounds like you’re in for a melancholic pop song but Alex Henry Foster has written a song that immediately draws you in to an emotional experience as much as a song with spoken lyrics and almost sound effects for music before it enters somewhat more conventional song territory nearly halfway through it’s over five minute length. It’s reminiscent of Slint in the beginning with its desolation and emotional fragility and in a like fashion the sounds escalate into whorling howls of controlled guitar feedback and splaying percussion to enhance a sense of one’s own mental breakdown. It’s not enough for Foster to write a song about what sounds like someone trying to come to terms with the death of a close friend, family member or other loved one and struggling painfully with that fact, the memories, the regrets of the things you wish you had said or done rather than taken for granted that there would be time to find closure. The song is the sound of the pain of that open psychological and emotional wound that persists despite your best attempts to heal. It’s a harrowing listen but one that honors the experience and emotional agony of the loss. Listen to “Summertime Departures” on YouTube and follow Alex Henry Foster at the links below. Look out for the new album Windows in the Sky, on which you can hear the single in context, out May 1.