73. Single Review of Time by Sage Sojourn

Originally Published on December 09th, 2024

About the Artist

Here lately, I have been coming across a wonderful phenomenon of artists who are just starting to release music. Today’s feature includes one of those artists. Sage Sojourn, the stage name for artist Rachel Edwards from Bethesda, Maryland, is a folk singer who debuted in August of 2024. Her debut single, Signals, breathes new life into a reemerging genre of folk and alt-pop. Reminiscent of vintage sounds like The Cranberries' albums Everybody Else is Doing it, So Why Can't We? and No Need to Argue, paired with some of the originally optimistic feel that kickstarted the global sensation, Coldplay; more specifically, their albums Parachutes and A Rush of Blood to the Head, Signals is an ambient build that climaxes with an out of this world, airy vocal sequence that stops the world in its tracks.

She would follow this statement-making debut with October’s Search for Silence; an acoustic enigma with an incorporated delay on her vocal part that gives the sense that I’ve not been doing it right before, now having heard the way it should be done.

Sage incorporates both guitar and piano into her music, having grown up playing both instruments. Her music is inspired by relationships, experiences, and travel. She can be seen playing the occasional open mic in New York. She is also gearing up to release her debut album. If you would like to contribute to the kickstarter, you can donate here. After listening, I have no doubt you’ll want to! Most recently, Sage has released her third single in 2024, Time.

About the Song

Time is the third single released by independent artist Sage Sojourn. At just over Three minutes, it was released on November 11th, 2024. It features Sage on lead and backing vocals, piano, and guitar, with synth bass, ambient backing synth parts, percussion and drums. 

About the Music

Time comes in with with a short acoustic introduction before the percussion fills into the first verse. The full band comes in with Sage’s vocals. The tempo is a slow groove. The song is not a ballad but not uptempo either, sustaining a dynamic presence in a sort of brooding, atmospheric existence. The guitars incorporate a lot of reverb and delay, giving it the early Coldplay vibe I referenced earlier (think Everything's Not Lost) and the more I hear Sage sing, the more I hear Dolores O'Riordan without her signature heavy Irish accent.

The ambience of this song is so incredibly appealing. The production quality of this song is perfectly dialed in, really capturing the essence of the overall vibe. Like how the vocoder was incorporated in the tag right before the last chorus. The entire song was perfectly thought out and executed in a way that exhibits a vast experience for production value. 

About the Lyrics

Lyrically, time tells the story of a lost love. A relationship that had once been but ended because the pair were not ready. Then later down the road, they reconnect and, though there are admitted feelings still there, the damage had already been done leaving the reconciliation unlikely

I really like the lyrical cadence of this song. As the song is performed in 6/8, Sage has given an AAB CCB lyrical cadence that encapsulates the rhythmic performance of the song.

“On the same evening, I found out you’re leaving, I gathered my things by the door. You didn’t show up, til I was a grown up, telling me you wanted more.”

The first verse references the break up and reconnecting. It doesn’t state how long it’s been but we know our subject now references themselves as “grown up.” It could just be a reference to their maturity from gaining closure of that breakup though. Or we could be talking about literal years.

“There was time before. What a crime to ignore.”

The chorus eludes to the theory that we have moved on in a somewhat significant amount of time. Perhaps a year or years after the end of the subject/object’s relationship.

As we move into the second verse, the narrative transitions from a heartbroken vibe to a jaded one: “Tears in your eyes, as we say our goodbyes, not sure when I’ll see you again. Twenty years later, and I’m still a hater, remembering all of your sins.”

Again, I love the cadence with the lyrical content hear. It rocks right with the time signature and gives the overall record a unified flow.

Final Thoughts

I am a little bit in disbelief that we have only been getting releases from Sage Sojourn for the latter half of 2024. From the performance, to the songwriting, and the production, each of her projects have a very experienced and confident sound. I am very impressed with what has been presented thus far. I really look forward to listening to the next project, hopefully an EP or an album.

For now, I am impressed. I think anybody reading this will be impressed. I can’t wait to hear more!

You can follow Sage on Spotify, Instagram, and you can listen to Time, wherever you might stream music! 

Don’t wait. Go press play!