Girl at the Rock Shows

I’ll be the first to admit that I was hesitant to take on a review of Alex Haines’ new album, ‘The Instrumental Sessions.’ The first thing that made me a bit hesitant was the album title. Right off the bat, I knew this wouldn’t be an album where I could fall in love with lyrics like I typically do. The second thing was when Alex described the album as “melodic metal.” Although I appreciate that genre, it’s just not one that I’ve ever been super in love with. That being said, the pitch that Alex sent me went on to say that the “music is complex enough to stand alone without vocals.” That’s a bold statement, but it hooked me. Was Alex telling the truth, or did she trick me? Let’s check out this fourteen-song album and see!

As soon as I hit play on “Two,” the first song on this album, I felt like I had gotten in a bit over my head. I instantly knew that this would be a review where I didn’t have all of the right words to describe what was happening, but, as the song played on, I felt the cinematic feeling Alex mentioned in the pitch to me. This opening track is a stunner and truly powerful. You can feel movement throughout this song, and I feel like that’s something that will reign supreme throughout all of these songs. This song, in particular, gave me slight Viking vibes. Like there was an epic journey through a Norwegian forest of sorts with a crew of people dressed in traditional Viking garb. I know, that’s dramatic, but so is this song, so it works.

“Like a Ghost (Little Sister)” continues with the epic vibe but with a bit more of a melody behind it that is impossible to miss. As Alex had mentioned, this music stands on its own and doesn’t need lyrics to tell a story. I feel like you really feel that in this song. Although the notes are not words, you could easily associate words with each note, creating an epic tale that wanders as far as your imagination will let you.

I love the triumphant energy that takes over with “Life Doesn’t Work That Way.” Honestly, with the song title, I was expecting something a bit more depressed or at least slightly more somber, but instead, this song hit me like a triumphant battle cry, emphasizing the “battle” part of that. There’s a tug of war that happens in this song between a bright string sound and the deeper drum pattern happening beneath. This energy makes this four-minute-long song feel like it’s over in the blink of an eye, which is a bummer, but have no fear, there is actually an additional way to listen to this song, and that’s through the snippet that Alex has posted with vocals in it. You can listen to it HERE! Although it’s just a couple of seconds long, I feel that hearing Alex’s voice and what she has done above the beautiful instrumentation of this track adds a twist and will definitely enhance the strength and depth of every song you hear after this little snippet.

Speaking of tug of war, the next album on this track is titled “No Tug o’ War.” I felt that the tug-of-war feeling was a bit more prominent in “Life Doesn’t Work That Way,” but I like how the themes laid out in that song seem to be expanded on in this fourth track of the album. The drums feel a bit more frenzied here, but I really appreciate how, even with that, you can still hear all of the intricate layers of strings and everything else happening in this track loud and clear. Sure, there’s still that tug-of-war feeling, but I like the fact that it doesn’t feel as much like a battle and more like an even playing field of sorts.

I was struck by the use of space and silence in “Face in the Crowd.” This song is just as epic and intense as the previous tracks on this album, but it’s more spread out, and time is given throughout this song to digest everything that has happened thus far on the album. Although we aren’t quite halfway through, I like the subtle break that this track gives before Alex Haines plunges you back into epic intensity with “Magnetism.” Although intense, there’s something slightly tender about “Magnetism,” which seemed to continue the slight break I was feeling in this album. Although this wasn’t the most exciting song on the album, it’s one where I was utterly captivated by the beauty.

By the time that “Fade Away From Me” took over my speakers, I felt like I was in a bit of a haze. It wasn’t a bad haze and I loved how the epic storyline I had created in my head was continuing but, through “Fade Away From Me” and “Look Up,” I felt like there was really nothing more to say, It was more epic sounds that were layered on top of each other to creates wholly immersive worlds where your mind could wander. It almost felt like a video game, like you could pick your paths, double back, and pick a different one depending on where you were in one of these two songs.

“Look Up,” the eighth song on this album, is another triumphant number like “Life Doesn’t Work That Way.” I like that energy and the way that, although still very much an Alex Haines original, you see some play with electronic noises in this track. It made it feel almost more extraterrestrial than Viking-styled when compared to the previous tracks. Don’t get me wrong, there’s still that classic, symphonic metal vibe here, but there are just a few little intricacies that lean more into an electronic world than I had heard previously on this album.

The ninth track on this album is aptly named “Nine.” I feel like this is the first time you hear and feel a more somber mood on this album, and I’m absolutely here for it. It not only makes this track stand out, but it also gives you a solid break in the album to just digest everything that you’ve been through previously. It’s as if you can either use this track as a time for your character in your imagination to rest, or reset and start a whole new tale just in time for “Why You.”

Things pick right back up for “Why You,” but with some new tones introduced into the sound. It’s kind of like that electronic intracy I heard in “Look Up” but not quite the same sound. I like how it almost makes this track and the rest of this album feel like part of a whole new story, something a bit more modern, a bit more Space Odyssey, and that idea is only expanded as the album moves onto “Watch You Self-Destruct.” I like this eleventh song a lot because it feels like it’s moving so fast, but when you really pay attention, you realize just how steady the beat is. For me, this made it feel like I was floating through space. Like you’re rushing through time, but time isn’t moving. I know it’s a little deep for a Monday night, but take a listen, and I’m sure you’ll pick up on what I’m trying to describe.

“Sweet Strawberry” is another one that stands out to me because of Alex’s play with space and silence. The beginning of this song feels so choppy compared to the rest of this album, but I like how it gives you a chance to see another style of Alex. It’s just a bit more artistic, less epic. Alex’s creativity throughout this album can not be put into one descriptive word. It’s because of moments like this that catch you off guard, but once they are behind you. You look back, you realize just how well they fit into everything else happening on ‘The Instrumental Sessions.’

This album closes with “Tightrope Dancer” and “I Said No, Pt. 2 (The Rain on Your Parade).” Again, these tracks are more or less the same as the rest of the album, but continue to show the creativity and virtuosic talent of Alex Haines. I spent these last two songs trying to wrap up the story I had created in my mind, but, honestly, even as the last note of “I Said No, Pt. 2 (The Rain on Your Parade)”, I was left with a lot of loose strings. Although I don’t have the time to go back and start this journey all over again right now, I look forward to checking this album out again with some fresh ears and seeing what kind of journey ‘The Instrumental Sessions’ can take me on next time.

Tl;dr – ‘The Instrumental Sessions’ from Alex Haines is for wild imaginations. Don’t waste your time here if you’re unwilling to let the music take you over and let your mind wander. Without imagination, this song is just a movie soundtrack without a movie. A Viking battle without the costumes. Although this definitely isn’t my usual cup of tea, I found a sense of whimsy and wonderment throughout this album, and, with a world as dark as the one we live in these days, it was nice to have an hour of pure bliss, completely lost in a storyline that Alex Haines and I created together.

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