All you people who follow astrology and post those silly Twitterscopes may be familiar with the concept of Saturn's return. For those who aren't, it's when Saturn returns to the point it was in when a person was born. This astrological transition marks a time in a person's life (from what I've heard, it's usually in your late 20s/early 30s) when they are fully realizing who they are. Aaron "Ab" Abernathy and 14KT recently dropped their album Saturn Return, a work that explores reckoning with who you were in a relationship and deciding who you will become once the cosmic alignment is over.
Ab and 14KT have something in this album that I as a writer can appreciate -- a strong storyline and an emphasis on thoughtful, well crafted lyrics. The beginning follows a person through the courtship phase of a relationship, with all its twists and turns and yearning. "Heavenly" captures this fuzzy feeling phase of love best, where Ab's vocals virtually float and you can imagine being dizzy off the high of having a new boo.
The transition from heavenly heights to hell is swift, and by the time you arrive at "Forget Who I Am," shit's already hit the fan. This song is broody, dark, warped -- basically all the things a person becomes when it's become clear that the relationship is on the rocks. Lines like, "I'm only playing for keeps, baby/Darlin, free love far too expensive and I'm far too cheap" had me in my feelings. When Ab asks his lover, in the interlude, what they are doing in the relationship and she responds with "We aint doin' nothin'," all I could think was cotdayum. Discovering you've fallen in love with a stranger is hell indeed.
"Forgotten" shines both sonically and emotionally. Who doesn't want to get to the point where they operate without being bitter about a love gone wrong? The jazz jam session vibe of this song perfectly fits the melancholy you feel when you have to just get over it. "God" and "Message to My Unknown Love" mark the transition into recovery and wholeness for the wronged lover. Ab and 14KT do a good job of maintaining thematic consistency over the course of the album, moving through the stages of relationship grief as methodically as a heavenly body makes its orbit.
Saturn Return is an intergalactic trip worth taking. You can listen to the stream via SoundCloud and cop it via their website now.
