A move rarely sounds like the theme of an album. More often it remains a footnote in a biography, a detail mentioned in interviews and one that is hard to hear in the music itself. Harry Kappen built “After the Crossing” directly around this shift, and the single “Distant Shore” is the moment where you can hear what happens to a person when they change continent, the language of their surroundings, and their everyday life.

Context matters here. “After the Crossing” is Kappen’s fifth album in the post-COVID period and, judging by the density of the material, the most introspective in his entire discography. All ten tracks were written, performed and produced by him.

In the alternative rock of “Distant Shore” there is tension. In the distant vocal, the dense arrangement, the driving drums and the orchestral textures. I like that there is an inner tension, a change of life by the will of fate. If you are looking for a track that will hook you, then “Distant Shore” is what you need.