Premiere: Dan Sadin hedges his bets with self-titled solo debut EP

As God is his witness, Dan Sadin‘s veins are coursing with a rich musical heritage. His maternal grandfather’s legacy, as an arranger for Chicago-based swing bands and writer who once worked with business titan Walt Disney, engulfs much of his work. A key guitarist in pop-rock favorite FRENSHIP, Sadin has also played session man for such commercial breakouts as Jessie Ware and MØ, but deep within his skin and bones, a frighteningly rootsy creature was awakened. His new-found primal instincts are prevalent throughout much of his solo debut EP, a self-titled project, set to hit tomorrow (June 22) and which clings to the staunchly earthy and organic Tom Petty and Fleetwood Mac model. First single “The Way That It Hurts” jingles with a forlorn presence, of something acutely troubling but profound ⎯⎯ “Tell me what you want, what you want from me,” he mumbles, in coming to terms with his despair.

Premiering today, the Dan Sadin EP trembles and aches, like aftershocks of an altogether damaging, merciless earthquake. “Here Comes the Heartache” sees Sadin opening the floodgates even though he can see the trouble peeking just over the horizon. “I thought I had gotten away / Thought I had nothing to say / I guess it’s just a little too late,” he considers, gentle tugs of celestial guitars looping in ghostly quivers. Then, with “Edge of the Dark,” his jawline is tense ⎯⎯ making his steely-eyed determination made known amidst an outbreak of classically-80s pop-structured beats and grooves. “Moonlight, you had the shivers / You woke me up and asked to hold you tight / Our bodies touched, and for a moment, seemed like everything was gonna be alright,” he sings and wraps a tender, clammy embrace around an unnamed lover. It’s glazed with a funereal lacquer, but Sadin’s vocal is careful and reassuring. In the final chapter, “Lost on Nothing” crawls along in the dirt with a lone guitar, at first, before a cloud of spellbinding harmony blows in from somewhere out west.

For his first rodeo, the meager four-song project is a vigorous display of impeccable craftsmanship. “I’m both excited and terrified to put this out into the world. Up to this point, I’ve played in bands or supported others in their projects. It was easier, less intimidating, than looking at myself and approaching my own music,” he confesses to B-Sides & Badlands, honored and humbled to get our hands on the first listen before its official street release. “But it resulted in feeling like something was always missing from these different experiences.”

He continues, “I was burning. I needed that missing piece. I needed to create the music I’ve been looking for. I had to capture the voice I needed to hear. This EP is me: my experiences, my relationships and my feelings. There’s nothing to hide behind. The fear of being this open and exposed has held me back from doing this for a long time. But if I truly want something, I have to be willing to try and create it for myself, and this EP is the start of that journey.”

Listen below:

Photo Credit: Silvia Grav

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