Album Review: Sabotage

A dark, unique voice in both writing and music, Mel Parsons has blessed us with a gorgeous 8-Track Album dubbed Sabotage.

The album has a mellow and intimate opener with Circling the City, already diving head first into my interpretation of the album’s themes of anxiety and how it influences self-sabotage. Circling the City is one of the three songs already released as singles (the others being Little Sadness and Offer Down). Parsons obviously draws on her own experience as an independent New Zealand musician, wondering throughout the album, “what if I never write another song,” and getting “stuck on works when the stakes are so high,” an aspect of writer’s block artists everywhere know all too well.

My personal favourite of the album is Little Sadness. Little Sadness is the feeling of a ray of Winter’s sun on the back of your hand. It is soft, melancholic, and full of the sweet reminder that “a little bit of sadness is a vital thing,” and that everything will come and go.

Little Sadness is a perfect pit stop in the middle of the album, leading well into another favourite of mine, 5432. 5432 exudes hesitation and doubt with the simple “what if’s” in the first verse and leaving the 5432 countdown unfinished in the chorus.

Sabotage is a beautiful album that reminds us that even though life can be surrounded by doubt, “a little bit of sadness walking with [us]” isn’t necessarily a bad thing, and in fact, it may even be vital.