In Motion: The Unteachable Voice of Ranzel X Kendrick
The transition from the "before" to the "after," with the cross-over point being Alias Wayne.
In the "before" you have hot Texas days. Days that are ordinary and stretched out in thin wispy small minutes on the clock; Days with a guitar resting on the wall in a position of authority, like some old man glaring down at you. The "after" is self-explanatory: the "Manifests of Destiny." The point at which the record begins to spin is like that of dropping the needle. Or the shift in temperature of a room when you open a window during a rainy day. Remember the odor of wet concrete and dust with some rust? That is how I imagine where this recording will fit in. It is neither comfort nor despair. It is in motion.
Ranzel X Kendrick was truly impossible to teach in the best sense of the word, always. There was never anyone mentoring him and no clear lane for him to enter. There was just that "voice" (smooth, sweet, and a bit rough) pulling steel strings through blues Twitch memories, interrupting with jazz style slipped in the side, followed quickly with the Latin-sounding pulse next door. There were moments when you could hear him hesitate but ultimately he went for it and refused to be stopped by doubt.
The theme of Manifest Destiny is a song by the band "Abyss," and it is about two things. First off, the song is about the struggle between fate and agency. The way the band plays their instrumentals in this song creates a conflict inside their minds, similar to when someone argues with themselves in the middle of the night when they are tired and a television is buzzing in the background. While the guitar assumes a breathing form, similar to the forming humanity of a person due to their close microphone setup, it then expands into the deep space beyond the body when you leave an urban area. You can see cacti, sagebrush, and streaks of different colors painted in the stoic skies.
The album cover also shows the same mythology through the use of American iconography, although in a way where the myths have been refracted and reclaimed as something else. Conquest is not the focus; instead, the song shows what has been done because of the actions that have caused a change. The closest thing to be compared to a paradigm shift is a quiet awakening, which is the realization that we have all changed in one way or another.
In conclusion, Alias Wayne has risen. He's not perfect; he's not "cooked" to the point of being fully developed. He's far steadier than at the start of this article. It's as if the music has accomplished what no mentor could've done: it has urged Alias to continue walking down the path he chose. When he sends out his next message, we will all be waiting with our "ears" in anticipation as if we were already missing the first message.