Self-Titled by Jesse Daniel Edwards (Cavity Search Records)

Jesse Daniel Edwards
Jesse Daniel Edwards
Cavity Search Records

It feels appropriate through the mass chaos of over-information, over-stimulation and over-expectations to stop, slow down and reflect. For Jesse Daniel Edwards, he stripped bare the roots of conventionality and looked inward for innovative means. All it took was a piano, his hands, and his soul to create a shinrin-yoku-esque work of creative expression.

Here we have a collection of beautiful and intimate songs that make you feel both present and lost in the moment, slumped back near a piano. What that translates to is some of the more honest songwriting I have experienced this year.

Jumping to the middle of this album, “Remember How To Love” best defines Edwards’s storytelling, which leads to some of the most heartfelt piano work this side of the ‘70s. When you add in songs like “Wrong About God,” “This House Comes With A Ghost,” and “Nobody’s Got Me,” his diary of deep thoughts bear resemblance to early Billy Joel and Nick Drake.

It takes intentionality to stare into fragility both from the musician and the songwriter. This album illuminates the best for all of us.