Career or happy family life? Any answer is a kind of loss. And, unfortunately, such a difficult choice has to be made sooner or later by any modern person, regardless of what field they work in.

Dewey Kincade also made his choice: for the sake of his family, he left the big stage and began helping his wife raise their daughter. Such a life-changing decision completely transformed his life: instead of the usual concerts and hard work to bring the band to the top of the musical Olympus – attempts to find work and earn enough for a normal life; instead of communicating with fans and signing contracts – raising his daughter, building a relationship with his wife, because making a family happy is also very hard work that shouldn’t be ignored! But credit where credit is due: Dewey Kincade didn’t break under the harsh reality that fell upon him, but works tirelessly for his family, and… even continues to write songs! After all, he has something to say to the world. And for this reason, he continues to work hard on his songs and music, despite all the difficulties and practically chronic lack of time.

His new album “The Dark Ages” is a kind of triumphant proof that it’s too early to write off Dewey Kincade and consign his name to oblivion. Why should you definitely listen to this album? At the very least, because it’s material and spiritual proof that one can engage in creativity at a high level even with small children and limited time for creative work. And every track on the album confirms this directly or indirectly. The album contains 20 tracks plus 5 B-sides of old singles. Among them, I want to highlight several that left a particularly deep impression on my heart when listening:

“Tied to the Rhythm” is distinctive. The first few seconds feature a fairly heavy melody that evokes associations with detective stories and action movies of past years. But then, with the help of energetic vocals, Dewey Kincade dramatically changes the mood of the track: energy appears, vigor, determination, and even positivity. The track becomes more dynamic, the wariness and apprehension caused by the beginning disappears. Only the sensation of rapid flight or even high-speed driving toward a designated goal remains.

“Borderlands” is smoother and brighter compared to the first one. Dewey Kincade’s vocals play a special role here: you can hear both longing for lost opportunities and times, and determination about the decision he made – in other words, he’s not planning to change it, even if he were to start a second life – and hope that there will still be chances ahead to fully realize all the plans that failed up to this point. It’s precisely this combination of emotions that makes you listen to the track very carefully and understand: if in such a situation a person found the strength to move forward without destroying his family, then I, without such a complex life dilemma behind me, should definitely be able to succeed.

But the track “Shadow” is very special to me personally. The theme of shadows in creative work is usually shown as dark, sad, and deadly dangerous. But Dewey Kincade & The Navigators literally turned this stereotype upside down! The track is full of energy, light struggle, and barely noticeable sadness. But the emphasis is precisely on strength and energy, which is why all the negativity is practically invisible, only favorably highlighting the positive message. My respect and admiration to Dewey Kincade for such a decision.

The next track “Pissed it All Away” simultaneously strikes with its distinctive solemnity and lyricism. It’s important to note: here both the music and Kincade’s vocals are equal partners. One is practically impossible to perceive without the other. In essence, this track is a kind of promise before all listeners, the world, and even before the performer himself. The note of sadness is a hint at what happened in the past, and what Dewey Kincade wants to partially get back, without losing the wonderful things he has at the moment.

But the track “Read My Mind” delights with its energetic dance melody. You want to cast aside all the sadness and philosophical reflections that came before this moment and just dance. Such an optimistic mood captures you literally from the first seconds of the track. The melody “blows away” all the negativity, forcing you to move actively to the beat and more actively solve all accumulated tasks. Tested from personal experience: while listening to this track, I managed to solve even those tasks that had been in “postponed” status for several weeks. That’s what kind of motivation and productivity boost this track provides!

“After the End” maintains the cheerful dance mood. There’s energy to spare in this track! Sharp guitar riffs don’t cause headaches but rather focus attention on the person’s inner state and the hidden message he conveys to his listeners.

The track “Run, run” concludes the album and simultaneously creates a kind of “musical aftertaste.” The track is literally saturated with longing and emotional pain. This is heard from the first seconds, and it might even seem that the track was written for a final farewell to a dear person. An important point should be noted: both the vocals and melody are so powerful that it’s hard to force yourself to pause the track. Despite the sadness and overall heavy atmosphere, you want to listen to the song to the end. But your heart and soul after listening feel as if turned inside out, and tears would be a logical continuation of the track.

“The Dark Ages” by Dewey Kincade & The Navigators is very strong in music, lyrics, invested emotions… It’s hard to single out any one thing as the foundation. The only thing that can be said is: this album should be listened to in those moments when it seems that your strength has run out, there’s no support from loved ones, and there’s not a single opportunity to fully realize yourself in work or creativity. “The Dark Ages” – don’t let the title mislead you – will not only destroy these negative thoughts but also make you understand: opportunities exist. All that remains is to stand up and use them.

*This review was made possible by SubmitHub