New York-based songwriter Gabriel Birnbaum (of Wilder Maker) describes his debut solo LP Not Alone as “classic American music, suitable for everyday use,” and he’s not wrong. There’s something quotidian about his tunes in the way that he recounts daily adventures and the minutia of the minutes passing between the hours, offset by the easygoing nature of his backing band laying down classic folk rock soundscapes. This isn’t to say there’s anything boring about Not Alone; rather, Gabriel Birnbaum’s ability to craft plainspoken-yet-engaging narratives of everyday life resonates as good, honest work—his view of the world is well-used when accompanied by stuttering roots rock electric guitars and rhythmic, acoustic strumming, providing a contemporary example of the hardworking American musician archetype. Stream the first three tracks of the record below, and catch Birnbaum at Turk’s Inn on December 4th. —Connor Beckett McInerney
