Icarus Phoenix, the project of indie songwriter Drew Danburry, arises from a place of raw vulnerability and personal upheaval with the new album I Should Have Known the Things You Never Said. Written after Danburry’s separation from his wife of 13 years, the album dives into the depths of grief, loss, and introspection — set within a melodic range of rock and folk. Through melancholic tones and reflective lyrics, Danburry channels his pain into a cathartic exploration of a fractured heart, offering listeners a poignant glimpse into his emotional landscape. The result is a powerful record that explores the complexities of love, family, and personal transformation in the aftermath of a life left behind.
“The Things You Never Told Me” opens the album with enveloping emotion, capturing how unexpected twists in life prompt self-reflection and feelings of distrust. “I’m not hurt that you don’t want me. What shakes me up is how you lie,” Danburry sings, before confronting the fallout: “I walked away from our son and family. I walked away from my whole life.” A twangier intrigue emerges in “Live. Give. Lose. Grow,” comparing life’s many shifts to a flowing river. While the opener delves into the painful role of deception in relationships, this second track examines blame. “But I’m not okay with you blaming me,” Danburry admits, with the production evoking the sound of Ozma as distorted guitars surge in the final minute.
Self-reflection deepens on “High Tide.” Jangling guitars accompany lyrical meditations on value systems, emphasizing, “You can’t value what’s misunderstood,” while exploring the battle of will after personal turmoil. The song climaxes with the poignant admission, “I’ve been working so I can live, but I dunno why I’m living.” The album compellingly probes the subconscious, examining how loss and overwhelming emotions can surface when love and grief collide. “And I taste the water drinking in the flood it’s in my blood,” Danburry sings in “In The Blood,” a resonant cover of Mother Lights, evoking the inescapable emotional aftermath of a meaningful relationship’s end.
Following the previously featured “Doctor! Doctor!” comes “Hatillo 2,” a stirring meditation on the death of a relationship—and the broader loss of something once beautiful. “It’s strange to me how we’ll only be the best of friends, or worst enemies, nothing in between,” Danburry sings, against clanging guitars and serene piano, capturing the all-or-nothing nature of many relationships.
The album plays like a heartfelt contemplation of a breakup—so it’s fitting that “Painting” touchingly conveys how art can serve as a therapeutic outlet for trauma. “When the third died, she used painting to get through,” Danburry sings, describing a tragic protagonist who processes the deaths of her children through artistic expression. “The Sword and Harp” similarly touches on cancer and the foreboding consequences of love’s dissolution. The gorgeously epic “Kanashimi (哀しみ)” closes the album with a spacious, soothing atmosphere, offering a cathartic release and healing after the chaos and heartbreak of previous tracks. I Should Have Known the Things You Never Said is a thematically rich and melodically captivating work from Icarus Phoenix.
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“The Things You Never Told Me” and other tracks featured this month can be streamed on the updating Obscure Sound’s ‘Emerging Singles’ Spotify playlist.
