The last time we heard from young Ian Penn, it was 2015 and he just released his first EP Wild Abandon. Nearly two years have passed and the young folk singer from the foothills of Arayat, Pampanga returns with his latest single: “Water From the Creek.”
An initial salvo for an upcoming album with the same title, this song again combines Penn’s playful road trip-worthy rhythms with his signature wistful lyrics. Here, a gentle sort of regret seems to have been woven in with the wistfulness, resulting in a song that is both poignant and whimsical at the same time.
Water from the creek running down below
Sea light singing at the end of the road
Nothing much to say
I am longing to be with you
On careful listening, the song gives the impression that a certain amount of time has passed since the singer last saw or spoke to an absent friend (or lover, depending on how romantic your fancy is); the water from the creek having run under the bridge, so to speak. While the singer has looked forward to being reunited, he also notes that things have also changed – and not exactly in the ways he would have liked.
And the words I say do they mean a thing
If the change I make won’t let you bring me
But I…
Well, I don’t know you
Penn’s lyrics capture the awkwardness inherent in the alienation we feel when we run into an old friend after a long absence, only to discover that we no longer know them as well as we thought we did, or worse: we barely know them at all.
Rollicking yet sentimental all at the same time, Ian Penn has produced a tune that lingers in one’s head long after the music fades out – one that evokes sentiments that linger long after a conversation ends.
Ian Penn’s latest single is currently available on Spotify. Look out for his new album in the middle of this year.
The Darker Side of Me 