99

99. Offerings - Typhoon (2018)

Indie Alternative

Mental illness has shed much of its stigma in our society in recent years, opening the door for long-suffering people to seek help and treatment without fear of reprisal in one form or another. It’s a step in the right direction, but there’s still a long way to go and some would argue that the complete eradication of such things as depression is likely a pipe dream. Portland’s Typhoon is doing their part to get the nastiest bits of these afflictions out in the open.

Offerings (2018) is a beautiful tragedy. It’s a perfectly cohesive and meticulously arranged nosedive into the deterioration of mental faculties, depression and suicide. Songwriter and singer, Kyle Morton, has a well-sharpened knack for conveying some of the most indescribable and terrifying thoughts that take hold in a sick mind and refuse to let go. The Rorschach test is a recurring motif; the test is designed to use ambiguous ink-blots to identify patient’s subconscious maladies. On “Algernon”, a seemingly routine therapy session takes a turn for the worst. The weight of guilt is palpable throughout the album, along with the sense that it is likely exaggerated, as is so often the case in a depression-wracked mind.

Sonically, the album plays like one 69 minute song, slow-burning with occasional flares into a vacuum of sadness and loneliness. While it’s certainly not the first album to be built around some of the most frightening realities of mental illness, it may be one of the best. Rather than leaning on violent, aggressive instrumentation to deliver the emotional gut-punch, Offerings relies on the lyrics to drive it home. The sole glimmer of hope, hidden track “Afterparty”, offers a carefree acceptance of many of the fears explored on previous tracks and contextualizes them universally, laughing as they’re diluted among the stars.

*image; cover art for the album Offerings by the artist Typhoon