Detroit political Hip-Hop artist Chris Orrick has officially released Out To Sea. The album includes tracks like “Funny Things,” an ode to the feeling of doubt one experiences while watching our country go into a seemingly downward spiral, as well as something seemingly more light-hearted like “Liquor Store Hustle.” Then there are tracks that hit closer to the core: “A Dying Man” is a harrowing portrait of substance abuse and “Wallow Hard” leaves Chris questioning his own effort and whether or not it has all been a waste. Each song is an expression of the dark corners of the mind one may experience but with a humorous lining, which can be the most effective as far as personal therapy.
Out to Sea began without any overarching ideas—writing as a way of figuring out what he needed to say and as a form of catharsis. Themes of stormy weather and disastrous climate started to materialize from the fog of word. It was an easy leap to link them with mental illness and the diseased discourse that has infected the political climate in the Trump era. Out to Sea is an attempt to communicate beyond reductive binaries—not some naïve both-sides-ism bullshit but a fragile and lasting document sketched through a vale of sadness and a haunted concern for humanity.
