Album Review: Orion Sun - 'Orion'
A masterfully crafted collection of songs about love and heartbreak.
Orion Sun, the American alt-R&B artist, has been on the radar for a few years now. Her music has triumphed on streaming platforms, gaining massive listening numbers on songs such as “Mirage”, “Dirty Dancer” and “Antidote”. She has also collabed with Fred again.., serpentwithfeet and and was recently sampled by Bryson Tiller on his hit single “Whatever She Wants”.
Her highly anticipated self-titled album, Orion, is a beautiful and deeply emotional journey through healing. Known for her blend of R&B with electronic and acoustic elements, she has crafted an honest and raw collection of songs about love and heartbreak. The album is filled with vulnerable moments of reflection on pain, longing, and eventual healing, amplifying an universal feeling that will resonate with many.
From the very start, Orion sets the tone with the intimate opening track “When I Was In Love”. It is a quiet introduction that feels like a deep breath before diving into the more emotional depths of the album. Her first words, “Oh, what a dream it was, when I was in love,” are deceptively optimistic. While it might seem like a nostalgic reflection on love, the track quickly turns into a hint to heartbreak and emotional turbulence that follows.
The album’s lead single, “Already Gone,” is one of its standout tracks. It captures the raw, painful reality of losing a partner. With a mellow, synth-driven beat, she sings of the overwhelming feeling of loneliness and depression. Her lyric, “Going outside feels like going off to war, and I spend most of my time now just trying to get you off my mind somehow,” encapsulates the paralysis that comes with heartbreak. Themes of coping mechanisms and heartbreak recur throughout the album. In “Mary Jane,” Sun turns to marijuana as a metaphor for escape and on the track “Sweet,” Sun moves from marijuana to nicotine as another metaphor for her addictive yearning for love.
The tracks “Sick” and “Nights Like These” are some of the most complex tracks on the album, both melodically and lyrically. They both follow a similar theme, at their core being breakup songs, but also serving as reflections, sad and honest ones about losing and missing a past partner. “Sick” is one of the most raw and personal moments with Sun singing, “I’m crying all alone again, pitiful, pitiful, pathetic, I don't regret it… It's a miracle that love even happens at all”.
“Take My Eyes,” is a tender ballad about love and connection. The instrumental is simple and allows her vocals to shine as she yearns for someone to help her see the world through a different lens. One of the more experimental tracks on the album, “Twilight Zone,” adds a neo-soul twist to the mix with a rap verse about emotional turbulence and addiction.
“These Days” feels like the emotional core of the record. This career highlight focuses on the messy and confusing parts of moving on from someone, and all the sadness and need of acceptance that comes from it. It is both a beautiful and devastating track that reads like a page out of her own personal diary with lyrics such as, “Let it be known throughout the land, I have thrown up both my hands, I need you more than I can bear, I surrender”
Toward the end of the album, we found ourselves in a more positive tone, with the hopeful and reflective “Rather Be” and “Don’t Leave Without Me”. “Rather Be” mixes heavy guitars and drums and sees the singer moving forward. The following track, “Don’t Leave Without Me,” is about acknowledging the patience required for healing, singing, “Rainbows come after the rainstorm, but I’m impatient.”
The final track “Gannie,” is a loving tribute to Sun’s grandmother, offering a moment of peace and closure. It is an unusual but heartwarming closer to Orion, bringing the focus away from romantic love and toward family and the wisdom of, in this case, her grandmother, “I thought I was out here on my own, but grandma sings for me”.
Ultimately, Orion is a deeply personal album that speaks to the complexities of love, heartbreak, and healing. It is a masterful record that doesn’t shy away from exploring the darker corners of her experience, whether it’s through the lens of substance use as a coping mechanism, struggles with faith, or confronting the painful realities of losing someone.
Words by Marcos Sanoja
