Robbie Nack Searches For Answers In "Lost Breath"

Sometimes artists will surround their messages with layers and layers of music, empowering them with layers of melodies. All you need at times is the barest instrumental and a powerful voice to get you there, though. Robbie Nack searches for answers in Lost Breath, his debut record that follows a journey through grief featuring mainly just him and his piano.

Lost Breath is a concept album of sorts, going through the five stages of grief in an attempt to find answers for his pain. Suitingly, the album begins fairly positively, if not a bit bittersweetly, with 'Love It All The Same,' bringing a Father John Misty-esque vibe, with just enough masochism in there to make it come off as such. 'Beautiful Sound' continues with the set up as he recalls the beautiful moments before it all fell apart. Following track 'Can't Change' is where things begin to fall apart for Nack, the chorus crooning "I can't change who I am / I don't know who I am."

From there, Nack really falls apart. 'What Was Meant To Be' is wishful, lonely, and regretful, the gentle piano supporting Nack's newfound loneliness and pain. There's a distinct change of tone here, and that tone carries on throughout the rest of the record, present even in the lyrics: Nack sings sadly, "All the pain that I caused, I didn't mean to inflict / The wounds that are made, oh they seem to me to contradict all I said to you that day when I couldn't see the actuality of what was meant to be before you left..." Title track 'Lost Breath' is even more sad and heartbreaking, followed by the beautifully painful 'All In Vain.' The album ends crushingly with 'Locked,' Nack leaving his pain unanswered as if to say the journey isn't quite over yet.

Robbie Nack searches for answers in Lost Breath, his newest record that sees him battle grief in the wake of a relationship. The album begins in a blissful place and ends in a depressed one, and it never quite finds the right conclusion; but that's part of its magic. Grief doesn't have a linear start and end, nor a single way to battle through it. Nack isn't done healing, but hopefully his music helps him get another step closer.

Favorite Tracks: Lost Breath, Locked, All In Vain

Least Favorite Track: Can't Change

Rating: 78 / 100

Stream or buy Lost Breath on Apple Music, and follow our 2018 Playlist on Spotify: