Ehson Hashemian is a multi-faceted southern Californian based artist with both band and solo projects under his belt across his time in music. He’s a singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist who is in creative constant motion and looks to keep moving forward as well paying his respect to his past, learning and reflecting from all of life’s experiences. His story has been described as threaded with the energy of collaboration and his strength in artistic individuality (Plastic Magazine) from his time in The Jakes and his five albums prior.
After a hefty year of releases across 2025, Hashemian is back with his sixth solo album Message (2026). This is a reflective album which tackles his struggle to make a deep connection with others and resorting to these songs to express his feelings. Across the album you can really hear the “live” feel he was aiming for, with a raw minimalist production across his tracks. What was fascinating to hear was the incorporation of the strophic form and polyrhythmic guitar parts in older African music. This created an interesting concept album with the overarching theme of staying optimistic during tough times and always moving forward.
The album gets off to a slow start, but this feels like a conscious choice to help add to the reflective themes of the album as the artist works through his struggles. Melodies and tempos begin to pick up by the fourth track ‘Find A Way’ with the vocal style and differing pitches guiding the listener through the story. The sixth track ‘Hold On’ was a particular stand out to me as it was a clear showcase of the blending of Hashemian’s indie roots with African musical influences as pretty guitar riffs flowed at a consistent pace throughout.
‘Message’ being the title and seventh track on the album felt like the pivotal summit of the story as Hashemian desperately sings how he wants to get his message across to someone. The drum riffs throughout are gentle to give the vocals the central spotlight to echo the album’s story. ‘Should Have Seen’ was another highlight with cascading guitars and meticulously put together drum lines with the cymbals really commanding the rhythm on what was a short but sweet track.
Moving into the last five tracks of the album there was a notable pick up in the average pace. This also felt cleverly put together to allow the optimism and drive to move forward in tough situations to emanate out. ‘Somewhere’ had a real surfer rock feel to it with guitars reminiscent of the ocean waves and another consistent drum pattern to tie the track together. You can hear in the lyrical content where Hashemian has his moments of realisation about moving forward in tough situations and not letting it get the best of him. Overall, this made for a well put together concept album that had a cyclical story.
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