Gabriel Birnbaum – “Not Alone”

Taking a solo tangent after years spent with the likes of Wilder Maker (Northern Spy), Violence Jazz and Debo Band, Gabriel Birnbaum sets himself up in the vein of road weary troubadour and it looks good on him. The title track from his upcoming LP Not Alone is a loose, untucked and heart-heavy song that spins in lyrical circles. The track plays Gabe’s sandpapered vocals to great effect. Over a loping guitar line, he turns the rather modern medium of texting into something more timeless, soaking the song in a Townes / Fred Neil grit that grounds itself in the idea of connecting with long distance love through small moments.

Inspired by albums like Jim Sullivan’s UFO and some of the more immediate entries to the Neil Young catalog, the song has a looseness to it while remaining clear that the crew behind the record is on the highest order. No stranger to session work himself, having appeared on records from Lady Lamb to Eli “Paperboy” Reed over the years, Birnbaum gathered a group culled from members of Okkervill River, Sam Evian, and avant jazz circles for his own recording and they give the song a live in the room quality that’s buoyed by Birnbaum’s intimate delivery. The record is out 11/22 on Arrowhawk Records.