Chasing The Chimera

3rd album from Brooklyn-based indie pop singer-songwriter S. Holden Jaffe. The project name was inspired by the Delaware Water Gap, where the Delaware River flows through a gap in the Appalachian Mountains on the border between New Jersey and Pennsylvania. Catchy melodies carry the folk and pop tunes — blending a mix of keyboards, guitar, bass and drums. Jaffe’s smart song lyrics can be simultaneously anxious and hopeful, messy and clean, simple and complex. Overall, there’s plenty of variety in the 12-song set, with some memorable standouts. RIYL: Bleachers, Lizzy McAlpine or Maggie Rogers (who was originally in the band!).
— Francis

Recommended: 3, 1, 11, 2, 6, 9. FCC on unedited Track 13.

1. (2:50) Marigolds — Breathtaking opener dealing with a heavy theme of not expressing one’s love. Starts with a sustained ethereal fade-in, and then kicks in with a solid mid-tempo hook at 1:10. ****
2. (3:52) Small Town Joan Of Arc — Syncopated pop bounce with a hint of Americana amidst the intricate layers of sound. ****
3. (3:58) How To Live (Clean Edit) — Fragile, strummy anthem. Airy in the verses, building up to more energetic choruses with a stop-and-go rhythm. Jaffe’s soaring, reverbed vocals are a highlight. ****
4. (5:14) Please Follow — A funky, jazzy groove with drifting synths and a compelling bass line. Incorporates ample brass under the pleading vocals in the back half of the track.
5. (3:20) Eastside Girls — A melancholic and sad stroll. Sweet vocals, with a romantic feeling over twinkly piano and throwback brass trappings.
6. (3:25) New Personality — Up-tempo, radio-friendly toe tapper, with rapid-fire almost spoken vocals. Throwback sax solo in the lead break. ***
7. (2:43) We Don’t Have To Take It Slow — Sentimental piano ballad with pedal steel guitar.
8. (2:41) Never Speak Again — Flowing, synthesizer-heavy track with lyrics about love lost and saying goodbye.
9. (3:27) Ghost In The Uniform — Breezy, light guitar-based 70s-era pop with warn vocals. Adopts a bossa nova flavor partway through. ***
10. (2:34) Waiting On The Day — Measured, halting tempo with a solid backbeat and nice guitar work. Leans a bit more Americana.
11. (2:54) Damn — A cheery folk pop standard in the streams-happy style of the day, with piano flourishes and some clever lyrics. ****
12. (4:03) Eagle In My Nest — Slow and introspective orchestrated closer, with thoughtful lyrics and smooth vocals expertly handled by Jaffe.
13. (4:00) How To Live (Explicit) — FCC: fuckin’ (twice) — Unedited version of Track 3.