Statistically speaking, most of the people reading this will live well past 80 years old. So being 40 isn’t quite to the halfway point. Philosophically though, turning 40 causes a lot of people to take stock of where they are in life. You have to admit to yourself that some of the things you did when you were 20 are simply no longer possible. Your priorities have changed. Even if you haven’t played the adult card yet, you have to accept some responsibility, if just for some of your own choices. That assessment of where he was in life became the muse for Tennesseean Sean McConnell’s new album, SKIN.
The record kicks off with the title track, an acoustic folk number reckoning “there’s no rest that I can see when you’re your own worst enemy,” and a desire “to feel at home in my skin.” Next up is Demolition Day. It has a bigger sound, verging on rock and roll, but expanding on the theme that the demons providing fun in your 20’s are taking their toll on you at 40. Further down the set list is Older Now with a sweet acoustic guitar intro before the full band kicks in. It stays in the folk vein as McConnell ponders on growing older where “this man I’ve come to know, in 20 years or so, will seem to me a child.”
McConnell expands on the album’s sound as the song topics likewise grow. Glasgow Rain has a slower tempo and a country, bluesy feel. Southside of Forever is a driving rocker, softened a touch by the vocals injecting a little reality into everyone’s dreams of a pot of gold at the end of the rainbow. The West Is Never Won is folk rock encouragement to their daughter, born with cerebral palsy, to never let other’s expectations be your guide and instead pursue your own happiness. The closer, New Sons And Daughters, is a piano ballad. The sparse instrumentation belies the complex desire to escape the limits society places on us and instead “be free as the day God made us.”
Sean McConnell has collaborated with some of the biggest names in Nashville, and has songwriting credits with everyone from Christina Aguilera to Tim McGraw to the Plain White T’s. You’ve undoubtedly heard his music without knowing it. With 10 solo records to his name you likewise can’t really say he’s flying under the radar. Still, he’s not a household name so I suggest you take a listen to SKIN and try to figure out for yourself why in the world that’s not the case.
About the author: I've actually driven from Tehatchapee to Tonopah. And I've seen Dallas from a DC-9 at night.