Don Eastland - Lost Letters

Review by Karl Magi

Don Eastland’s Lost Letters takes us on a journey through love, desire and belonging. The way in which the artist combines his hushed, beautifully touching voice with engaging melodies and rich musical textures create an enjoyable listening experience.

“Lost Letters” comes to life as a ‘phone rings and electric guitar drifts. Don Eastland’s silky voice carries the narration, explaining how he has evolved as a person. A guitar floats with affectionate gentleness while the soft voice over adds to the peaceful sensations and the guitar echoes before silence falls.

The narrator delivers an emotive monologue: Hey stranger - I realize that I'm probably not the person you once knew. I've grown, I've danced, I loved and I lost but most of all I lived, I dreamed. You should see me now! I hope that you find me in this - my heart, my soul, the pieces of me. These are my lost letters.

Deeply soothing notes drifting into pastel peace start “Tattoo”. Don Eastland’s voice is woven with yearning, carrying an affecting melody above the indigo cloud glowing from behind. His vocals shiver with hurt and desire while the rhythm brushes lightly, touching me with sensitive warmth.

Now the beat throbs with sharpened edges and clean drums as Don Eastland adds his voice, veined with ache, as a deep synth growls. The background radiates emotion as the vocals slip past with velvety feeling and the shaping rhythm slides easily. His singing is luscious and intensifies the meaning of the words. As the softly spreading background exudes moonlight, affection permeates the lyrics with inevitable need before the song ends.

All of the memories of the song's subject crash down on the storyteller like "silent whispers in the dark, like lethal wounds and open scars." Like the soft breath of an oceanic wind, "memories of you crash down on me." He says it’s "like a tattoo I can't move," and just as the moon guides the tides, he’s bound to the other person.

As he falls hard, the narrator doesn’t let go because he knows the relationship is what he wants and more. He keeps returning to the other person because "desire burns like the rising sun, it’s raining down with a quiet hum." He adds that just as "the desert craves the shore, I need your shades of blue once more." He concludes, "Just like a tattoo, I'm stuck on you. What can I do?"

Solidly undulating, heavy notes support a raised synth that gleams like a distant sunset to commence “Back Down”. Don Eastland’s voice is joined by swelling, shining sounds that heighten the emotional complexity of the song. The chorus flies with unfulfilled need while the synth exudes brightness like street lights.

The punching rhythm and heavy drums evoke the highway rushing past, while Don Eastland’s soulful voice takes hold of me. Once again, the chorus coruscates with desire as the low end batters. The beat keeps guiding, undulating beneath the distinctive vocals, while tapping drums accelerate. Chimes flash as the deep pulse pushes forward and the chorus rises again, releasing blinding brilliance before the song ends.

As Saturday night winds down, the narrator figures he should head home with friends, but his mind starts to drift because "my only thought is you." He’s speeding down a one-way road, but he loves it, even though he can’t reach the song’s subject.

He admits he’s out of control but says, "The thought of touching you, it won’t back down." He speaks of "chasing the light that's in the wind" on a never-ending ride. He concludes, "Feels like the night is young but the song is fading and my only thought is you."

“Blind Love” opens as quickly intertwining, brilliant synth moves with rapidly trickling percussion. Don Eastland expresses overwhelming passion as his gauzy voice floats with caressing sensations while the rushing notes in the distance shimmer. A faint drum beat gives the music form as Don Eastland's voice grows in strength, carrying the rising memory full of irresistible need.

Echoing vocal sounds move with oscillating notes that create an interwoven motif. The sincerity of Don Eastland’s voice pulls me into the song as he carries the melody’s exuberance. The drums continue to pulsate while the bass scuds past. Softly enchanting vocals cry out as the tumbling notes move. The words are delivered with unalloyed feeling before the song stops.

The narrator and the song’s subject find themselves alone together, which is "the perfect time to call our own." They both realize that there's something between them which the narrator says is true. He adds, "Burning desire is all that's inside, I know you want it, your eyes tell no lies."

Blind love has overtaken them and it's all that he can see. He is "forever bound, forever yours," and he adds that "if love is war then I want more." The feeling between them is strong and our storyteller wants to become one with the other person. He concludes, "You know it's true between me and you."

Delicate chimes are joined by a sax which aches to start “One Shot”. Don Eastland’s voice trembles with loss and hurt while the sax’s reedy emotion fills the song before echoing percussion slaps into the music. The vocals are tentative and full of longing, enfolding me in feeling while trickling notes glint.

The sax is soulful and warm before the chorus jumps in again, conveying the raw emotions within the words. Subtle percussion drifts as the spinning synth sings. The sax unwinds in the background, overflowing with loss, as the track glides to a close with the vocals surrounding me.

"This bottle is holding my free fall," the narrator confesses. He wonders if the song’s subject is missing him and asks, "Have you found your peace?" He questions if the other person is listening and admits, "I can't hear your sound so I think I'll drown these thoughts with another round."

After taking one shot, our storyteller toasts his enemy and says that shot has him down on his knees. He adds, "One shot gives me what I thought I need." He asks, "Why is it not helping me?" before concluding, "This kill is mine, no I can't deny, I won't even try. Deep down I know you find you're better off without me."

“Young Boy” begins with dawn-touched synthesizer pulses that are joined by Don Eastland’s gauzy voice, carrying the gently aching melody. The massive drums throb with strength and the background suffuses the music with pink clouds. Memory Design's production is so luscious and layered here.

Don Eastland’s voice is powerfully vulnerable, surrounded by a synth that unfolds in ribbons of light. Percussion propels as the resonant vocals carry the plaintive melody above scintillating tones. cavernous drums roll as the chorus unfolds with hopeful need.

A cascade of flickering synth rises up, while the track pulses with a strong heartbeat. Don Eastland’s voice shakes with the need for change, gripping my heart with its emotional depth. The huge tones swirl with billowing lushness while the chorus dances and the broadly glowing notes intertwine.

The drumbeat’s propulsive strength presses forward as the vocals leap out, pouring emotion into every note. The swelling synthesizer rises once more before falling silent.

The narrator speaks to his younger self, saying, "You're on your own, so lick your wounds and carry on." He points out, "You've come so far and seen the world," but asks if that’s what he truly desires.

He’s “tired of chasing shelter in the pouring rain” as he searches for a savior in a shadowy dream. He reflects that "life goes up and down, time goes round and round," questioning when he’ll be found. He wonders, "Tell me in the end, what we found?"

His tires have left the road and he asks if they’ll ever make it home. Finally, he acknowledges that he has been “living on life’s edge” and asks, “But when will I find paradise?”