If there’s any album that fits my mood right now, it’s I’ll Make the Most of my Sins. Contrary to the title, Robert Vincent’s newest album isn’t about self-flagellation. These songs are sad but they’re not sad bastard sad; it’s not a rumination on all the ways you’ve messed up and how you’re paying for it now. I’d say it’s more melancholy — an album that at its core tries to understand the ways we feel pain and hurt each other.
To say that empathy is needed more than ever is simply a platitude in these times. But I’ll Make the Most of My Sins asks us to consider the ways in which our pain makes us act in ways we don’t want to. And given the president’s assault on our collective sanity right now, we’re all so keyed up that we’re led to do or say things that aren’t us at our best. Vincent’s powerful meditations invite us to pause and hold our sadness and anger — not to wallow, but to recognize we have it and to sooth it, at least for a little while. Vincent’s powerful tenor is reminiscent of Austin Lucas but Vincent’s power comes from a different place: more wistful than strident, but no less arresting. I’ll Make the Most of My Sins grapples with the biggest questions there are: am I moral person? Who defines morality? Maybe I do? What if I mess up? The album is a balm meant to reassure us that, however imperfect, we’re all doing the best we can.
Robert Vincent — Official, Facebook, Purchase from At the Helm Records, Purchase from Amazon
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I'll make the most of my sins is on permanent rotation with me. Poignant lyrics with killer melodies and a superb vocal style. The Americana feel to all but the opening track may not be to everyone's taste but it wasn't to mine until I saw the Man in action and realised whatever the genre a killer tune is a killer tune! Robert Vincent is one of the best songwriters and performers you are ever likely to hear. Check him out.