Image via Susy Sundborg’s Website

There are those moments in your life when you fall in love for someone and you fall hard. There are also those moments in your life where you don’t realize how great someone is until you lose them. Seattle’s up-and-coming artist Susy Sundborg’s “I’ll Wait” is the epitome of these two sides of a relationship; the knowing during and the knowing after of true love. It’s a fantastic and beautiful love song that catches the intimacy of a relationship. “I have loved you all this time/ Oh, I will wait until we give this love a try” is how she opens the chorus and you get mesmerized by Sundborg’s slightly raspy vocals that are almost like she is whispering, but yet belting out her love. The song replicates a love letter to her beau in where she confesses how she might have made them mad, how she should have looked at them the same way they looked at her, how she’s scared to lose them, and other honest and intimate examples.

One thing I truly enjoy about Sundborg is how she doesn’t over-do her vocals on a song. Many female singers currently seem to believe that they are enhancing a song by adding vibrato in at every peak point but instead they only take away from the song, granted this is not the case on every love song but it seems to be a trend (a prime example of this is our National Anthem, “Star Spangled Banner”.) Sundborg has a soft and breathy voice that pairs well with her airy piano and acoustic guitar backing.

Sundborg was trained in classical piano at a young age, and three-quarters through the song you hear her piano solo and it showcases her talent. While there are only two songs listed on her Bandcamp page, Sundborg told Volume by Alcohol that she is currently working on new material and hopes to release an album this coming Spring and adding more singles to her website, which should be available to purchase in the future. Please support these artists!

The song starts off slow and builds up a slight crescendo towards the middle after the piano solo with the vocals gaining momentum and volume, similar to how Cardinal Sin builds flavors after the initial sip. The similarity between “I’ll Wait” and the beer Cardinal Sin can be found on the first listen and taste. The bubbly texture of the beer mimics the pop style of Sundborg, while each are sweet by either lyrics or taste. Both the song and the beer have multiple layers/flavors that can be peeled back by several play-throughs or tastes, after several replays of each one you notice something new every time.

Laurelwood’s Cardinal Sin

Beer: Cardinal Sin

Brewery: Laurelwood

Style: Quadruple Belgian

ABV: 10.0%

I saw this beer on my local PCC’s shelf and had to try it. Then I looked at the price tag ($17!) and wept a single tear. Luckily I have a roommate who is into beer as much as I am and he bought it. Laurelwood has been gaining a following in the past few years, especially with the huge resurgence of craft beer loyalists (thank you Beer Wars). They make a fantastic espresso stout which is chock-full of coffee goodness. Portland is known for their craft-beer scene and their unique brews, which is why I never doubt buying a new beer by an unknown Portland brewery whenever I see one. Typically everything that comes out of that town is golden.

The label for Cardinal Sin is what initially drew me towards the giant bottle. Usually Laurelwood has simple and basic labels but for Cardinal Sin they spruced it up a bit and used a large bird silhouette with “Cardinal Sin” in a Gothic script font. The clashing of a deep red and metallic gold makes for a pretty bottle. I have a tendency to favor stronger beers, and when I saw the words “Quadruple Belgian” and “10% ABV”, I was hooked.

Cardinal Sin starts off sweet, which is to be expected since the bottle describes “We then added barrel aged amber ale that has been sitting on fresh cherries for several years. This yields tartness and complexity that well aged beer can add. ” This was not a sour or kriek beer by any means, don’t let the word “cherries” fool you. Cardinal Sin starts out quite sweet then switches to a tartness that envelopes your mouth. The sip ends on a slight bitter note, but not like a hoppy bitter more so a malty one. The beer was also quite bubbly, like a kriek, cider or even a champagne might be. Although when you mention champagne to beer snobs they’ll think of Sam Adams’ Infinium collaboration, which in my opinion was horribly disgusting. Cardinal Sin has the bubbles but they complement the tartness like a hard cider does without the adult-fruit-juice taste.

Cardinal Sin is a great and unique beer. While it might not be the best first Quad to try if you’ve never had that style, it is definitely a beer I would recommend to those who like more tart and sour beers but can’t handle the sweetness of ciders or krieks.