Gabriel Seaver

While there are certainly moments of clarity among the songs in the WEEED canon, the band is known more for rhythmic psychedelics than sparkling acoustic guitar. For his solo debut, though, the band’s Gabriel Seaver takes a turn down the pastoral road with an album of fingerpicked folk in the vein of William Tyler, Nathan Salsburg, or Glenn Jones. Like those accomplished players, the feeling here is not of the folk blues that so often get crumpled under the banner of American Primitive, but instead a more verdant folk that moves fluidly on the strings like morning breezes. Though he does nod a bit to the Takoma crowd on the winkingly titled “Primitive.”

The album is mostly instrumental, a commune between Seaver and his strings, but he does occasionally take a foray into vocal folk as on the tender “Strong,” which taps into the album’s sanguine tone, rather than pull from any of the more tumultuous moments from WEEED. It’s a nice first outing from Seaver, washed in wonder and seeking to divine the secrets of serenity from the chaos surrounding us. If you’re looking for a little re-balance this week, look no further than tuning.

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