Jason Savio

Like a shot of sunshine on a stormy day, Martin Sexton’s new four-song EP, 2020 Vision, is a refreshing and welcome listen. As the title suggests, Sexton sings about the dreary and anxiety-riddled year that was 2020, but he flips it on its head and tries to squeeze the positives out of it. 

In “Hold On” Sexton details the worries he had during the summer of 2020 as he was “wondering about the future/waiting for the past.” A charming and upbeat whimsical bounce in the music, with lifting horns, counteracts his stress as he finds solace building a treehouse with his son that the two had kept delaying. The treehouse serves as a silver lining of sorts for Sexton during a difficult time, and he even wrote the song in the actual treehouse that he sings about. It’s a song about not wasting time, and making the best of a bad situation. “I’m doing this time/This time ain’t doing me,” he adds.

“Calling on America” starts off more laid back with a gospel feel and features John Mayer supplying a sleepy yet poignant guitar track. Sexton paints a picture of an America that has both streaks of peace, like “picnics with people of all colors,” and confusing moments of anger on TV of people fighting one another. “I see the light in you/I believe it can still shine through/Don’t let them tear you down,” he sings. Sure, it may have a little bit of a Jesus-walked-on-water vibe to it, but if you listen to the song there is some real soul in there that you can benefit from.

“Riding Through the Rain,” with its chicken-plucking guitar, and “Penny from the Land of Plenty” round out the rest of the EP, keeping the collection’s theme of a divided yet strong country consistent all the way through. They may not stick with you as much as the first two songs on the EP, but they are solid additions that overall help create a strong collection.

After a dreadful past year, it is more than a welcomed change to hear someone look back on it and try to squeeze some sort of positive energy out of it, not just for themselves but also their listeners. 2020 Vision is as American of an album as you’ll likely hear, embodying all of the hopes, fears and dreams that our country has to offer, one track at a time. 

For more, visit: Martinsexton.com