“When the Disco Ball Crashed Down" is an album comparable to an evening journal Blue Sinclair could have written while walking home from wherever he was in New York City. The album's emotional trajectory weaves together the tension from the struggle of who Blue Sinclair has been, who he currently is, and the person he keeps testing out in the process. The album's themes don't reek of disjointedness. "When the Disco Ball Crashed Down" provides an expertly woven tapestry of your twenties in which your desires, doubts, vanity, nostalgia, and self-consciousness are perpetually conflated.

Also running through the record is the notion of almost moments. Again and again, Blue Sinclair sings about interactions that feel like they mean something but never quite develop into something lasting. Rather than being presented as a tragedy or a disappointment, these almost moments are instead integral moments in themselves. The songs loop around moments of fleeting talk, fleeting contact, and flickers of emotion that shine brightly for a brief instant before dissipating. The impermanence of it all becomes a part of the emotional syntax of the record.

The workings of time have a subtle but profound presence in the album. Clocks, nights, seasons, and memories all symbolize the weight of pressure and reflection. Often, Blue Sinclair finds himself in situations where he feels the weight of time, whether it is standing under city lights, pondering the past, or wondering if some opportunities might already be lost. However, the album does not end on a cynically negative note but instead seems to affirm in the lyrics the idea that it is a part of growth to live in the realm of the unknown.

Another strong thematic thread that arises through the lyrics of the album has to do with the contrast that exists between "appearances vs. reality." Blue Sinclair sings of the ease with which it is to see things through the lens of "how they look," as opposed to "how they feel." The world of "vanity, packaging, and success" seems to loom as an intoxicating trap that may bring comfort but certainly not satisfaction. These kinds of lyrics speak candidly of being seduced by such ideals, even while having doubts. The emotional authenticity of the album arises from the acknowledgment that there is no hubris whereby one is somehow above such pitfalls, particularly within a city that reflects "ambition and comparison" at every turn.

Consumerism and desire are also woven throughout this album in very effective ways. Talking about money and excess is done in an observational fashion. Blue Sinclair knows it is very easy to get caught up in the ideas of success and pleasure when they can easily lead down the path of nothing more than temporary high points. The emotional landscape of this album shows very well just how outside forces can weigh on a person's inner struggles. It becomes very clear through the lyrics that it is very easy to confuse wants and needs.

Nostalgia is revealed to be one of the most satisfying emotional threads that run throughout the album. Blue Sinclair is very much looking back in nostalgia at different versions of himself in the past and different versions of his dreams that never were realized in the present. It is important to say that the concept of nostalgia is presented in the album as being very dangerous if carried too far. It is both soothing and painful at the same time when one chooses to move away from it.

A further element of connection that exists throughout that project is indecision. Blue Sinclair is also found at that moment of emotional decision, where he hesitates between which path to choose. In those lyrics, there is captured the anxiety that comes with making those sorts of decisions: "to choose one is perhaps to lose them all." Such feelings are not uncommon throughout that album, where Blue Sinclair finds himself wrestling with uncertainties regarding timing, ambition, and personal definition.

However, the album still exudes a sense of quiet hope. The lyrics of Blue Sinclair imply growth not necessarily based on knowing the answers to every question but on the willingness to grapple with the uncomfortable truths. Growth itself is depicted as an uneven and sometimes messy process. The process of reflecting itself is a form of growth. Also, when Blue Sinclair seems stuck in a rut, the awareness that comes first is a sign of growth.

Given its status as a first effort, "When the Disco Ball Crashed Down" contains a surprising level of self-awareness. This record works because it finds confusion, temptation, and longing not as liabilities but as commonplaces. Blue Sinclair writes in a clear and controlled fashion that finds meaning in simple remarks. In its focus not on big answers but on specifics, the lyrics achieve an intimacy.

As a collection, this album captures a point in life but does not bind itself to it. Though the feeling of being in your twenties in New York City informs the songs, the questions that Blue Sinclair asks are ones that everyone asks, ones that transcend the boundaries of youth, ones such as "Who am I becoming? What will Ilet go of? And what will I hold on to?" "When the Disco Ball Crashed Down" may not provide the answers to these questions, but the seeking is made well worth the effort.