Tigard students can typically be caught downloading the hottest new songs on the iTunes Top 10, but this holiday season, you can find them listening to music that’s a bit more local.

This November 22nd, Tigard HighSenior Daniel Sacks released a self-made album titled, “Dan Sacks Is Alone’. It’s a compilation of catchy piano-heavy ballads with lyrics that are both individualistic and unpredictable. With charming phrases like, “love is the only affection I pined for” on one song and bold statements like, “you’re just a lousy piece of s**t, you have that kind of smell” on the next, this songwriter really knows how to grab people’s attention.

The mix is considered a “concept album”, which is an album that essentially tells a story or conveys a centralized theme. In this case, it’s telling the story of the artist.

“All of the songs are about a fictionalized version of me,” explained Sacks. “Like if I had an evil twin and if I was that evil twin, all of these songs would be about that evil twin.”

His description of the mix is perfect: “The story is funny and the story is sad. It will make you happy and it will make you mad.”

While this may seem a bit of an oxymoron, it couldn’t be more true. Lively melodies are accompanied with lyrics full of angst, covering all of the bases from an emotional standpoint.

Sacks wrote and performed each of the eleven songs on the album, showing that he is in fact no stranger to music. He showcases his abilities by singing and playing an assortment of instruments, including the piano, drum set, guitar, and harmonica.

Not surprisingly, the talent stems from experience. Sacks admits to have been playing music his whole life and has been writing songs for as long as he can remember. He even started writing raps in middle school when he released a five song CD for his creative writing class.

“It was pretty trash,” joked Sacks.

Sacks’ middle school songwriting was also unknowingly, the beginning of “Dan Sacks is Alone.” The first song he wrote on the album he wrote in the seventh grade and has been working on writing more songs ever since, finishing up the composing just two hours before posting the final product.

Thankfully enough, all of his hard work seems to be paying off. The album has been sold to tons of students and supporters of Sacks’ music and fortunately, it’s still available for purchasing.

“If you get it from me personally, it comes with my comedy special and a sexy Christmas card,” says Sacks. “You should definitely buy it.”

Copies are also available online at dansacks.bandcamp.com for $1.50.