After his dabble into the somber world of indie-goth pop, Shaun Kilfoyle, otherwise known as Minks, decided to lighten up and view the brighter side of life in his new, radiant album, Tide’s End. Evoking repressed emotions and sunny beach trip memories, Minks’s project is like a diary you don’t want your parents to find full of cynical musings and lyrics drenched with a general disdain of the inevitable ways humans are. But like any moody, scorned teenager, there’s hope and prospects of love embedded in his lyrics, along with gut-twisting self-realizations.
Simply, the tracks brought back memories of four-day weekends and the excitement you felt as you pulled out of your high school’s parking lot on a Friday afternoon. The simple vocals from Kilfoyle never reach too far, but they mesh perfectly with the soft and light production that instantly soothe you. It’s easy listening with a foot-tapping quality that lets your mind drift off for just a bit.
Each song is equally consistent with the balance of production, vocals and lyrics. Basically, every track on the albums proves to be a worthy listen. You might think the straight forward melodies and soft-spoken vocals could potentially put you to sleep, but the thought-provoking lyrics and the memories they evoke make every second worth the listen.
Most tracks take on synthesizer-driven melodies like an 80s spectacle waiting to uplift you only to bring you back to earth with deprecating lyrics about hating your best friend like “Romans,” for example, that has Kilfoyle saying, “Happy birthday / Can I poison your drink?” But “Everything’s Fine” soars off into space on the back of a hipster rocket with lyrics most likely about an acid trip: “Step out honey / The future is in bloom / Unknown colors are all around me / We’re spinning records up here in my room.” Adding on to the 80s feel is “Margot,” a song that describes the girl we’ve all heard of: a sweet California beauty who drifts in and out of people’s lives probably wearing a crown of flowers.
Of course, things take a darker turn from the upbeat song (“Weekenders”) about beach trips, girls in the sun and hating weekdays that makes you yearn for adventure as you sit in your claustrophobic cubicle.
Taking a slower, thematic pace, “Playboys of the Western World” swells with electronic belligerence until a recurrent beat kicks in while Kilfoyle eerily sings, “The young aggression marching on the cobblestone / The new artistic high class never had the feeling that they belong.” The album gets even moodier with “Painted Indian” and “Hold Me Now,” two songs that shift into personal recallings of the past.
“Doomed and Cool” and “Tide’s End” stand out as the most dazzling and riveting tracks on the album. “Doomed and Cool” should be the title of the actual album as it captures the entire essence of self-depreciation, yet knowing that everything will be fine in the end. It’s an 80s anthem with a constant beat like a racing heart of a young lover that has thoughts that every high schooler has: Does she like me? Is she jealous? Virginity? Kilfoyle sings in an intriguing chorus, “There’s no better place than paradise / There’s no better way to kill tomorrow than staying out with us tonight.”
With a production that contrasts most of the tracks, the final song “Tide’s End” takes a time machine from the 80s and uses a dimming piano melody and drum click that set up a gloomily enchanting environment. The heart-wrenching chorus complete with Kilfoyle’s self-awareness is stripped down and utterly raw, bringing up all sorts of existential emotions where he realizes that the notion of time moves us along no matter what.
Take the time to dive in to Minks’s Tide’s End. Absorb every word. Soak up each sun-drenched beach jam, but also think about what he’s saying in his tracks about life, love and unhappiness.
You can stream the album below.