Trespasses

RIYL; Mark Lanegan, Angelo Badalemnti, Bruce Springsteen, Tom WaitsComprised of 15 haunting tracks, the foundation that makes up Trespasses is the accumulation of nearly a decade of bedroom recordings by singer and multi-instrumentalist Nathaniel Shannon. Never intended for the public, the songs on Trespasses present an uninhibited glimpse into the murky corners of Shannon's life-long fascination with the macabre. Shannon describes the album as "a fantastical exploration into the mind of a person trying to hold his composure, and not let his inner demons loose. These songs are inspired by true situations I have read about, experienced, or created as an exercise in living out the life of characters who aren't real, but could be. This is the soundtrack for a horror film that doesn't exist."The perfect manifestation of Shannon's vision comes in the form of Trespasses' lead single and video "Debutantes." Based loosely on Japan's cannibal turned pop-culture figure Issei Sagawa, the song unfolds from his point of view - lust turning deadly not out of evil, but out of a blissful yearning to be one with his object of desire. The video's fitting nod to grind-house aesthetics (directed by Frank Huang) also flips the narrative's gender roles, placing a woman in the lead as a patient, methodical and blood-thirsty stalker. The rest of Trespasses continues the exploration of damaged relationships in varying forms - physical and emotional dependency, superficial connections, volatile love, masochism, loss, religion and even vampirism, all told through Shannon's vivid lyrical style and vocal delivery - an unreliable narrator just on the teetering edge of breakdown.