It takes a special courage to bare one's soul in their art, no matter the medium. Twin Cities guitarist and songwriter Steven Sayles dives headfirst into an ocean of sentiment on "Should Have Known," his first single in six months.
Sayles has produced wondrous, ethereal songs over the years, no matter under which name he releases them. His most recent work includes a pair of EPs (My 22nd Year I & II), several collaborations with Ambient Endeavors' Andrew Schibilla, and a quickly-growing catalog of tracks as Sayl (one even came out last week). Despite the constant output, "Should Have Known" is resounding in a way that already feels momentous.
More than anything, Sayles is rooted in grief. The song was written after his sister's suicide attempt and depicts the emptiness of unknowing in an absolutely gut-wrenching manner. His greatest curse is inaction; his guilt is borne of helplessness. The instrumental echoes the more guitar-heavy songs of Nashville duo Hammock, especially their 2017 record Mysterium, another album dealing with the raw outpouring of elegiac yearning.
While "Should Have Known" doesn't shy away from the sorrow, it is released into a world where both Sayles and his sister have kept going. "Look to the horizon / the sun is rising" is repeated twice in the middle of the song, hiding optimism between rising cliffs of anguish. Hope is presented not as a miracle cure that washes away every negative memory, but as a necessity, as the slightest thing to cling to in order to avoid sinking back beneath the waves. Something as simple as the sun inevitably peeking into the sky serves as a reminder that time is only a thing that passes, not an anchor that imprisons you in times of pain.
Listen to "Should Have Known" below.
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