A very lush new release from YASSiN & Sean Terrio certainly comes through feeling like a match made in musical heaven due to this gorgeous and very soulful set of songs that breed a wondrous honesty along with anthemic sort of undertones and some emotional drive that come through in different styles and approaches throughout the diverse but still very confluent album release.
The Just Try album features a variety of genre-bending songs that range from Americana, indie-pop, soul pop, rock, and so much more and it all falls together like pieces of a puzzle, so it makes complete sense because the personalities and characters behind the music really breathe extra life into the whole release.
This record comes through with a certain kind of warmth and sometimes that can feel fuller and singer-songwriter oriented, while other times that can be more boisterous and vibrant but either way, you're getting songs that leave a mark and have an impact. These are songs that clearly came from someplace real so the whole record feels authentic in that sense.
I definitely love how cinematic this record comes through and how each song feels like a chapter of a book in a strange way. They all have stories from different personal perspectives and That aspect hits wonderfully throughout this release.
You have an array of gorgeous instrumentation strewn about throughout this record from piano to guitars, organs, and more but what really grabs you are these insane vocal performances. The vocals are what give this record half of its full-bodied and flowing approach because they are so colorful and they're so big that they're just bursting with soul the entire time.
The title track of this record is actually one of my favorites and it's the first song of the release which is a very short one spanning about a minute and a half but it has a unique way of introducing you to a little bit of what you can expect from the record although I can say that this record does have again, a mass amount of diversity in the songwriting and the approaches, the sounds of the textures so, this is one that you can listen to from beginning to end and never get bored.
They have a way of displaying waves of intensity that come and go, thick color and character, charisma, and passion, and there are plenty of surprises around the corners of this record as well.
This duo has something very special and has definitely built a record that showcases not only their talents but how uniquely they can work together and how obviously a lot of this stuff just clicked naturally for them.
This was a gorgeous release with such an outside-the-box approach to putting a record together as a whole, but it works not only smoothly, but with charm as well.
It is definitely a charming album.
Some songs come through anthemic while others feel slightly more stripped down, but everything has a great emotional drive to it, and I think that's a big part of why this record stands so tall and comes through so much realness.
With the release of this beautiful record, we wanted to have a sit down with the duo to find out where some of this stuff actually came from and what might be coming up next for them.
Here's what went down.
Buzz Slayers: Hey to both of you! Thank you, guys, for taking some time! Let's start things off with the Just Try album which seems to be quite a genre-bender! Where did this record actually come from?
Hello! Happy to chat with you! That’s a funny question to answer haha. I mean it came from the bowels of our souls I suppose. I think it's the perfect blend of Sean’s & my personality, vibe, energy all tossed together to make this!
Greetings, the pleasure is ours. Yeah, I would say that this album is a snapshot of who we are right now, with all 30 years of living we’ve each got under our belts, with the expressions of how our lives have changed in that time. The overall message essentially comes from what we feel we’ve been doing: just a couple of dudes, shooting their shot and JUST TRYING.
Buzz Slayers: So, how did you guys get together and decide to start this project?
Sean & I met back in 2019 at the one venue our hometown has! He decided that day to try singing at an open mic for the first time, and I decided to go check out the venue for the first time. As soon as I sat down, I heard him sing and the rest is history! I had a song I thought he’d sound good on; we met up for drinks the next day and from then on, we’ve been making music together. We never had a moment where we decided, “hey let's make an album” It’s something we’ve both always wanted to do, and after years of writing together we realized one day that we had a body of work we wanted to share with the world!
Buzz Slayers: Did you both write these songs together in a live setting, or do one of you take ideas to the other and then let them grow from there?
A little bit of both! Early days, I definitely took the title of “main songwriter” and would bring songs to Sean to flesh out. But most of the songs on this album, come from Sean & I both sitting in a room working out ideas until we feel something special!
Buzz Slayers: Can you give us some of your favorite artists or bands that influence you guys?
Sean here: As individuals, we both enjoy a multitude of genres and sounds, and I hope this becomes apparent as our careers, in whatever capacity, develop and grow. In the past decade I’ve continuously gone back to Chris Stapleton, Earth Wind & Fire, Red Hot Chili Peppers, to name a few, and that list is supplemented by all sorts of new or old artists. I know Billy Joel, the Beatles, and the Eagles are some of the heavy hitters that are near and dear to YASSiNs heart.
Buzz Slayers: What are your instruments of choice?
We both can play a little bit of everything, but piano is my first instrument and it’s what I’m most comfortable on. When we play live, I do end up playing mostly acoustic guitar!
Sean: and I sing while holding a guitar!
Buzz Slayers: Did you guys mix this yourselves?
We did not! We’ve worked with the same LEGENDARY engineer who records/mixes all our stuff for years. Kevin Dietz is his name; he’s been a huge influence on our sound, and we’d consider him the third member of our duo.
Buzz Slayers: Are you guys going to be doing any live performances anytime soon?
We’ve got a few scattered over the next several months! But we do have a BIG one coming up December 20th. We are hosting a charity show raising money for Kids Help Phone in Toronto!
Buzz Slayers: Do you think you will work together again after this?
Aha yeah, I can safely say we will continue to work together…We’ve been working together since 2019 and we are very much a BAND, this isn’t a one-off album!
Buzz Slayers: What's next for each of you?
Sean: Get a gym membership, probably. Eat cleaner, get unnecessarily shredded, all to prepare for our next album: Just Try 2: Reloaded: Family’s All We Got. But really, just playing live shows, getting better at writing and performing, and seeing where the next songs take us.
YASSiN: What Sean said hahaha.
Buzz Slayers: Before we go, is there anything you'd like to express to fans of the record?
Sean: Dearly beloved, we are gathered here today to get through this thing called life. Electric word; life. It means forever and that's a mighty long time, but I’m here to tell you; there’s something else: YSTs debut album, Just Try. A world of never-ending happiness, you can always see the sun, day or night.
All Prince lyrics aside: Run right at your passions, forgive and learn from your mistakes, eat good food, sleep well, move around every so often and mainly, Just Try.
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