Harry Kappen drops a dose of pure, unadulterated adrenaline with this single, “Balance”. Serving as the lead release for his recent album “After the Crossing”, this song hits with a wildly specific energy. It taps directly into the rebellious heroism of a 2000s action-game soundtrack. You remember that exact feeling. The relentless speed, the punchy rhythm pushing you forward, the sudden thrill of invincibility.
Operating as a DIY multi-instrumentalist and producer, the Dutch-born, Mexico City-based artist crafts a fiercely syncopated drive layered with rapid, aggressively ascending runs. The sheer momentum never lets up.
There is a fascinating friction buried beneath that heavy hard rock exterior. Kappen’s background as a music therapist seems to bleed into the frantic alternative punk shell. He explicitly addresses the crushing psychological exhaustion of navigating a plastic, fundamentally unfair society. Yet he refuses to surrender to that bitter disillusionment. The narrative pivots gracefully from a heavy critique of our systemic flaws to a bright, triumphant push toward liberation. He begs us to forge an honest reality together.
The resulting atmosphere feels intensely uplifting in the most chaotic way possible. Does this kind of manic, beautiful rebellion actually fracture the systems we hate, or does it simply give us the speed we need to survive them?
