Charlotte Feller

Vincent Lima’s To Love a Thing That Fades beautifully follows the myth of Orpheus and Eurydice, and is augmented by Lima’s expressive vocals.

One of my all-time favorite song lyrics comes from the song “Orpheus” by Vincent Lima: “How do you know which memories to save?/ Like the very last footprint that Orpheus made.” I even wrote one of my college application essays using this question as a prompt (for UChicago, if you’re wondering).

Vincent Lima recently released his album To Love a Thing That Fades, on which “Orpheus” is the first track, and I don’t think I’ve ever loved an album so much on first listen that I wanted to review it.

I love Vincent Lima’s voice, and the expression with which he sings. He sings each word on every song with such emotion that it could make me cry, even if the song is happy and I’ve just had the best time of my life (the song “The End of Eurydice” will do that to you).

To Love a Thing That Fades tells the story of the Greek myth of Orpheus and Eurydice. If you don’t know it, I’ll give you a quick rundown: Orpheus is a musician, and when his wife Eurydice dies, he travels to the Underworld to beg the king of the Underworld, Hades, for a chance to bring Eurydice back to life. He sings and plays the lyre for Hades, and Hades is so moved that he agrees. Under one condition: Orpheus must walk ahead of Eurydice out of the Underworld, and if he looks back, Eurydice stays in the Underworld. Inevitably, at the top of the path, Orpheus looks back.

This album has 15 tracks, and Lima released the first couple of them as singles over the past few years. I loved them—specifically “Orpheus,” “Eurydice,” and “The Fire”—so I was extremely excited when he announced the release of this album.

Some of the songs are sad and heartwrenching, and others are hopeful, but all are some sort of slow ballad, which is exactly my type of music. Lima sings with such passion that you can’t help but stop and fully listen to the lyrics and music; you have to know where the song is going. There’s a lot of cello and guitar in these songs, with drums in a few, and you wouldn’t think that all the instruments sound good together, but they do.

I don’t know if I have a favorite song, but if I had to choose a favorite line Lima sings, it would be “Darling, we’ll dance” from “Dance Here Slowly.” It’s just the right tempo, sung with just the right feeling, and I feel as if I may evaporate when I listen to that song. Some of my other favorites—other than the songs I already knew—are “Inner Peace” and “Worth the Walk.” If you want something that will make you cry, specifically if you know the myth already, listen to “The End of Eurydice.” Like the title suggests, the song recounts Orpheus looking back and Eurydice fading.

The album is also well-curated. You start with “Orpheus,” the beginning of the story, then follow from Eurydice’s perspective, and eventually end with “Charon Retires,” which suggests an air of finality.

Even if you don’t know Greek mythology, listen to this album, because it will make you feel so many things: hope, fear, love, anger, understanding, and heartbreak. I spent 55 minutes and 33 seconds the day it came out listening to the songs I knew and the songs I didn’t, and that time was not wasted.