Ohio-based recording artist TINO is set to his seventh solo project in 11 years, Midwest Sorrow. The physical release becomes available on October 15 at an album release show at Dayton, Ohio’s Yellow Cab Tavern. The digital project will hit Bandcamp exclusively on November 4.
Midwest Sorrow is what you get when a hip-hop artist decides to incorporate their love of ’00s emo rock and ’90s neo-soul. TINO tackles themes like addiction, abandonment, and betrayal, and layers them with soulful, rock, and screamo vocals that at times duel in the same space bands like Taking Back Sunday or Mayday Parade occupy.
There are instances where this project sinks into moments clearly inspired by Miseducation of Lauryn Hill before plunging headfirst into interpolations of Fall Out Boy, all the while maintaining its strong rap backbone. The production includes lo-fi soul samples and dark synth. There is even a guitar-only ballad played by Rizo, owner/engineer of The Dreamcatchers Recording Studio in Columbus, Ohio where this project was recorded.
As varied as the soundscapes and vocal techniques used throughout are, Midwest Sorrow doesn’t stray from its ode to sadness until the end when TINO re-emerges from this experimental foray to boast of his journey on title track “Midwest Sorrow.”
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