Sting operation

The veteran performer weaves his trademark magic in a new album that is an exercise in genre exploration

If there is something one has learnt about listening to Sting, it is the fact that the man has a penchant for experimenting with his sound. In his new album, The Bridge, Sting packs a punch with influences of classic pop sounds, R&B, jazz, folk, electronic and even world music. The lyrical mastery that Sting possesses shines bright as always, with Biblical allusions, fantasy and reality.

The Bridge almost feels like a train passing through lands, exploring their sounds, conversations, legends and stories as it travels. Sting manages to take us on this journey by incorporating such sounds to inspire us to chronicle our own. The opening song, Rushing water, is the kind of exciting sound that captures the eclectic brilliance of this album. The raucous drum beats are infectious to the ears as Sting prepares to take us along the road of different influences that comes through in this album.

One can find the deceptive lyricism of The Police and the signature haunting of Sting’s baritone in the songs Loving you and The hills on the border. The folk influences in Captain Bateman seamlessly engage eclectic instruments that rush and flow while listening. The deluxe version of this album comprises an alternative experimentation with Captain Bateman’s Basement, an interesting electronic addition to his already illustrious repertoire.

The album, having been conceived and recorded during the pandemic, reveals the contemplative nature of Sting’s lyricism throughout his songs. The boyish charm of Gordon Sumner of The Police, and the heydays of the 1970s, has been replaced by a pensive veteran, looking upon life and its myriad intricacies. Sting’s sombre mood resonates in The bells of St Thomas, Waters of Tyne (deluxe version) and the final song in the album. The deluxe version of the album has Sting covering the laidback Otis Redding classic, Sitting on the dock of the bay.

In what has been a humbling two years for humanity, Sting manages to create the connection between lands, past and present, and genres in an album that captures the varied complexities of humankind.

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