Music review: Tom Chaplin – 鈥楾he Wave鈥�
For his first solo effort, Tom Chaplin uses his time away from the British band Keane to chronicle his personal journey through addiction and sobriety.
鈥淭he Wave鈥� serves as an intimate and emotional confessional describing a descent into darkness and then a rebirth fueled by optimism and hope.
Chaplin鈥檚 haunting musical scenarios of pain, loss, struggle and redemption strike me with the same sincerity and heartbreaking intensity I felt on Butch Walker鈥檚 fragile and moody 鈥淎fraid of Ghosts鈥� from 2015.
鈥淏uried in the rubble/There鈥檚 a boy in trouble/Reaching for a piece of the sky,鈥� sings Chaplin on the opening track. 鈥淪till Waiting鈥� describes the feeling of having darkness and despair as a constant companion and the frustration of waiting to be rescued from the emotional and physical wreckage that our inner demons orchestrate.
鈥淗ardened Heart鈥� follows the same desperate plea as Chaplin hits his lowest point and scans the damage done to friends and loved ones as he sings, 鈥淗urting everyone I know/Bringing everybody down so low/Stuck along a road of sadness/With nowhere to go.鈥�
Not everything on 鈥淭he Wave鈥� is doom and gloom. 鈥淭he River鈥� finds Chaplin finally moving on from the past and turning a new page as he is reminded that the good old days are long gone and it is finally time to move forward.
鈥淏ring the Rain鈥� is a moving track about emerging hope and rejuvenation through the washing away of past sins and the revealing of the light through the cleansing of the soul.
After going through the process of repairing relationships left broken as a result of his addictions, Chaplin pens two very powerful love letters with 鈥淗old On to Our Love鈥� and 鈥淪olid Gold.鈥� These tracks outline the process of rediscovering the true power of love through honesty, devotion, understanding and standing by your partner鈥檚 side no matter what the world throws at you.
鈥淭ime will sweep these things away/And I鈥檒l be carried by the wave,鈥� declares Chaplin on the title track that gracefully draws the album to a close with Chaplin coming to terms with his existence and feeling at peace with who he is and where he is headed.
Now on his own, Chaplin embraces his recent tribulations and triumphs and delivers the first masterpiece of the new year.