Soft synthesizers, samples from the natural world, and curiously gentle guitars are some of the elements that allow Alex Ghosn to pull you along on her journey (and debut album) To the Sea. The 8-track record feels like watching the credits roll after a coming-of-age movie; Ghosn’s raw and reserved vocals weave a story of becoming while a melancholy tambourine marches alongside. Composed to be a representation of her time in pursuit of an experimental pop degree from CalArts, To the Sea begs the question: what does culmination sound like?
Lyrically, this project emulates nostalgia. Pointing to the past, Ghosn paints a picture of the realization that familiarity can only last so long. With lines like “Holding onto memories that I dearly dread… but all that breathes and never sees the light,” in the first track ‘Came To Know’, or “…all I was, it’s gone away,” within ‘To the Sea’, the title track, we’re listening to her contend with the bittersweet reassurance of remembering.
The instrumentation throughout this project acts as guideposts for Ghosn’s ruminating and celestial lyricism. While the arrangements all exist within a generally similar sonic realm, what makes each track so unique is the pacing and dynamics of different moments. For the most part, the percussive elements on To the Sea are intentionally limited – much of the album leans towards a droning and textural nature – while tracks like ‘Grace’ and ‘Change’ bring in more robust drum elements, giving the tracks a bit more energy and structure. Aside from the way the drums give shape to these songs, Ghosn blends in layers of warm and melodic synthesizers that aid in actualizing the atmosphere she’s created.
To the Sea does a great job of acknowledging the intimacy that comes with feeling connected to a certain place or time of life. But what I’ve enjoyed so much about spending time with this collection is that it doesn’t feel stuck there; rather, it asks you to wander with it into the unknown. To look back and appreciate the journey to this point, while also pondering how different everything could have been and still can be. Take the lyrics of ‘Grace’, for example. In the verse, Ghosn looks towards the future, singing “You will be there. We will both be hoping for more. I’ll search for undiscovered treasures. You’ll forever be keeping the score.” These lines are filled with uncertainty, but also with hope, and by the time we return to the chorus, she is once again reminding us of the possibilities of the past: “I could have been king, I could have been rich, if it wasn’t for all that I gave in… Hoping for change, and what is grace, and what is love I couldn’t chase.”
To the Sea, Alex Ghosn’s debut album, holds much promise as it skillfully explores culmination and nostalgia, encouraging listeners not to forget, but to hold onto moments of the past as life pulls you into what’s next.
Written by Jenna Andreozzi
