Nearly 20 years ago, Mark Gilbert logged a trippy stint as the founder of a Chicago-based psychedelic outfit. Now recording as Songwatcher, he eschews the spatial toadstool licks in favor of indie rock, alt-country and atmospheric texture. That he gleaned inspiration for his newest album A Day Like Today from “the dark depths” of a basement as opposed to a field of psilocybe mushrooms is a testament to this directional shift. Even the cover art – while firmly in naturalist mode – betrays no inkling of pharmacological enhancement. Rather, Gilbert keeps it straight. He turns inward, plumbing that infinite well of isolation and loss. Presumably, with enough sunshine, said themes can wilt in their joust against life’s cruel ills.
The first cut “Alone” delves unapologetically into the fracas. Armed with a chugging rhythm, this is a major chorded pavement burner that skids into ‘90s alternative at each chorus. Airy vocals leave space for instrumentation, particularly via soft harmonics. “Canvas” aspires to stretch the blueprint further, while keeping one foot (or, more accurately, hand) firmly planted in guitar-driven mode. By “Isolation,” however, spatial sensibilities are explored. As the music breathes, a solo horn offers dimension amid whispers of brushed drums. And when the moment is over, “For You” returns to the axe-fronted scheme of the opening tracks. Yet, in this case, the guitar is itself the embodiment of a lyric-less chorus. That’s no easy feat. Sure, exceptions were made when Gerry Rafferty slummed it on “Baker Street,” but the world hardly requires that degree of face-melting saxophone in 2022. “Did you know / there was a car crash waiting for you,” Gilbert instead muses. It’s a disquieting view on the interconnectedness of being (or destiny, depending on one’s mileage). “A Day Like Today,” the title track, conjures another stylistic departure, this time through an ambient interlude during its first half. And “Never Leave,” uneventful until the three-minute mark, hits peak liftoff with a windows-down, wind whipped bridge. If anything, Gilbert seems adept at inserting these hooky earworms, driven forward by a persistent rhythm section. One might be quick to dismiss A Day Like Today as nebbish emotionalism, a winsome ploy to appear “on trend,” at least tonally. But that’s not entirely fair. Gilbert bleeds sincerity through 28 minutes of tranquil warbling, even when it sometimes feels redundant. In a world increasingly beset by Instagrammable fleetings, the scab picking here is open, bare, real. Scratch it.
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