Sigma Alpha Iota

26 Summer 2025 • sai-national.org Album Reviews DANCES AND DREAMS: PIANO MUSIC FROM AROUND THE WORLD Hanren Zhang, piano MSR Classics The arts can seamlessly blend with and into each other. There is a place for the painter on a theater stage, the photographer on a film set, and the composer with a dance. This international collection of compositions centered on dance is performed with skill and passion by Hanren Zhang, who himself has been a part of several premiere performances, won multiple international awards, and is a faculty member at Nantong University in China. A musician is at their best when they are in harmony with their instrument. "Fast Dance," part of Bela Bartók's 6 Romanian Folk Dances, is in every way light and fun, from the fast tempo and notes that seem to fly off the page, to Zhang's fingers flying across the keys. Danzas Afro-Cubanas, originally composed by Ernesto Lecuona, is a stand-out performance; you can feel the music through your whole body. The roots of jazz are easy to hear, and a joy to listen to, in William Albright's "Sleepwalker's Shuffle" from The Dream Rags. In all these cases and more, Zhang approaches the piano as if they themselves are dance partners, in harmony with each other. Through bringing together different styles of music from Frederic Chopin to Yiqiang Sun, Hanren Zhang demonstrates the sheer breadth of his skill at the piano... and the beautiful diversity of the world around us. The album is available for purchase through msrcd.com. TSUNAMI SEA Spiritbox Rise Records Released March 7, 2025 F inals, kids, career, world events... some days it's all some of us can do to keep our heads above water. But the amazing thing about music is its ability to bring about that healing catharsis. The newest album from Canadian metal group Spiritbox is a perfect demonstration of that. Spiritbox is unafraid to push boundaries with their sound. From a production standpoint, I found an interesting choice in distorting the lyrics of "Fata Morgana"—fate is a mirage—in a song whose title actually describes a type of mirage that distorts objects to make them appear taller. Further, Spiritbox blends metal with other genres and styles for a unique listening experience. "No Loss, No Love" seamlessly brings together spoken word poetry and electropop with heavy djent, while "Crystal Roses" pulls heavy inspiration from EDM. "Ride the Wave," my personal favorite, takes a heavier, more metallic approach to synth-pop (it actually reminds me of Depeche Mode). Lyrically speaking, the album taps into universal emotional experiences through a recurring water motif. "Perfect Soul," a metal song with strong pop influence, refers to wishing to be washed up by rain, carried in the ebb and flow. As someone who works to fight their people-pleasing behaviors, "Keep Sweet" really spoke to me: So I keep sweet to keep safe/ Temperate in a heat wave. Tsunami Sea is a metallic meditation on the storms that brew inside us all. How we cope with them... how we not only survive, but thrive, in and through them. Spiritbox is unafraid to make waves; we should be, too. Tsunami Sea is available on CD and vinyl, and is available for streaming on Spotify and Apple Music. Rebekah Strain was initiated into the Gamma Upsilon chapter of Sigma Alpha Iota at Morehead State University in 2013. She currently resides in Lexington, KY, where she teaches writing classes. She can be found on TikTok and Instagram as @rebekah_writes94 Ever since I joined PAN PIPES as a contributor, I've had two goals: One, to share music—and stories about it—that readers may not have encountered before. Two, to uplift and share the accomplishments of our members. In this spirit, I put out a formal call for members to submit their albums for review. 1. Submissions are open for all genres: chamber to choral, metal to pop. If you make music, we want to hear it. 2. Whether your album is through a major record label or independently produced, do not feel limited by distribution models. 3. We will accept either physical copies or digital downloads for review. Please reach out to Angela Silver, PAN PIPES Editor, to send a copy of the album. 4. With your submission, include the names of all artists featured and their instruments, as well as initiating chapters (you may include current chapter affiliations). Please also provide links to where your work can be purchased and/or streamed. Thank you for your time. I look forward to listening to everyone's work! —Rebekah Strain CALL FOR MUSIC SUBMISSIONS

• Cover