Album pick, October 2026

The past month I have made an effort to spend my time in a more analog manner; part of this has been listening to my vinyl records, rather than using my phone or any streaming apps. As a result my pick this moment is another one from my record collection. Specifically “In the light of defeat, I cease to exist” by Sundowning.

Album cover

Perhaps I should start with the cover of the album, it tells quite a story in its own right. It features three images, with contorted faces chained down. While the images are composed using a cut-and-paste technique, it makes it look like some kind of twisted horror or some kind of eldritch monstrosity. The high contrast of these images make the faces feel barely recognizable as human. It seems like however you look at the cover, there is always a different distorted face that can be found.

The album came forth from exploring our moments of failure, our own weaknesses and unfulfilled longing and hope. I think we have all had moments where we were to critical of our own actions. After all the saying goes “you are our own worst critic” and often it rings all to true…

The music and songs reflect this sentiment in every aspect; there is a mix of open soundscapes and heavy guitar riffs. Wind instruments are used to support the heavy guitars, while string and electronic instruments are used to shape the soundscapes.

This album is the first album that the band has released in ten years. These songs were written before the band went on hiatus, in erratic and explorative songwriting sessions. They were never meant to become an album, originally they were just conversations between friends rather than anything musically inclined. When the band decided to break their hiatus and restart the brand, they dug up these drafts and decided to turn them into an album. Each of the members bringing new musical experiences, from their time apart and their own musical careers, back to the band.

I myself, can really resonate with the title of the album, as I am too much of a perfectionist at times and far too critical of my own work and mistakes. This album explores this feeling and sentiment very well and definitely evokes those feelings; both through the actual music as well as the lyrics.

The lyrics have not been published anywhere and they can be quite hard to understand at times. Yet they are quite heavy and further testament to these feelings. You can feel that they originated from personal thoughts and feelings.

I find it hard to pick a single favourite track, since all the tracks flow together so well, especially on the vinyl. Apart from having to flip the record over halfway through, it is almost impossible to hear when one track ends and the next starts. So for my favourite track, I would have to say the entire album. If I had to pick a single track, I would pick the last track on the album, with the same name as the album; “In the light of defeat, I cease to exist”.

Regardless of my pick, I would definitely recommend listening to the entire album from start to finish.