Join Sam Rappaport in a melancholic descent with “Journeyman’s Ballet”

Over the past year and a half, the world has gained an uncomfortable familiarity with isolation. Being left with our own thoughts can be hellish. Sam Rappaport follows a man through his own descent into a solitary situation in “Journeyman’s Ballet”.

Rappaport’s second single lifts moments of the jazzy undercurrent from his first single, “Till the Morning Comes”, but with a fuller, more developed sound. The buoyant grooves wash like waves under his silky vocals, blending folk, rock, and soul qualities into a melancholic tone.

As Rappaport describes the man’s fight with his inner demons, he laments on this unnamed man’s behalf, “and the monsters still remain.” Those monsters, born as “the shadows of his sins come alive,” seem to multiply over the song’s progression. Even the minor vocal harmony widens slightly and the terminal /s/ purposefully doesn’t align—from one person comes two voices out of sync. It’s a beautifully creepy choice.

The intimate, understated composition allows those moments of subtle storytelling. With the warm tonality and stark theme of isolation, Sam Rappaport pulls you along for the ride into the darkness with his person’s specters.

Stream “Journeyman’s Ballet” below.

Ben McCoy

Ben is an advertising Madman who spends his days with words and music. When he’s not writing for his supper, he’s eating it at some of NYC’s most interesting restaurants.