Most people won't like Sewn Among Thorns - Heavy. Groovy. Nasty.. I expect that Mason Andrew Freak understands this, and it's explicitly stated that this music was created as a form of therapy (as I think most DIY music is, really, but in this instance it's worth noting that the artist has been diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia). I'm not entirely sure I like it either, although I don't not like it.
The album is over an hour of heavy and lo-fi rock songs that exist primarily in the grungy punky slacker rock space. Some songs are heavy, some songs are delicate, and all of them feel like a singular expression of the artist. There are tracks here that I think are pretty great. Songs like Ricotus Grin (I'll see you in hell), razor-blades as valentines, and beautifuly out of tune (The things we ponder) sound like they could have been early Nirvana demos or jams. Then there's the loud screeching guitars in the sound of one funking out in the wilderness which is extremely cool sounding. I also really enjoyed Virtue signaling (I am that bastard).
The real highlights for me, though, are the more delicate moments. One hell of a trial by fire has this quiet and slightly disjointed bass riff is almost completely out of time with the drums, but the grungy vocal performance and melody make for a pretty endearing piece of outsider music. Then there's the delicate guitar and melancholy vocals of …the cornerstone block sent to break every heart…. This feels like the heart of the album, where you can make sense of what Mason is expressing.
So why won't most people like this album? Well firstly is that this is outsider music and that's certainly an acquired taste. The guitars, drums, and vocals are often completely out of step with each other that while quite a few songs work, often they sound like chaotic messes. I have a real soft spot for this kind of thing though so that wasn't much of an issue for me.
The bigger problem is that this album is very long and quite repetitive. Combine this with the messiness of the production and arrangements and it sadly ended up being pretty exhausting and I found myself constantly checking how many tracks were left.
I think if Mason removed half the tracks here, ideally the sloppier ones, there would be a pretty solid album. As it stands, I don't think it makes for the best listen, but I can at least appreciate it as an artistic expression that is probably a fairly necessary part of Mason's wellbeing.