Del Water Gap [Limited Light Blue]

The album offers up a tracklist that is charged with desire, jealousy, and pure adoration – and no matter which feelings the album stirs up, it always comes with an honest sense of intimacy.

The closeness felt throughout the album stands out when Jaffe uses music and lyrics that surprise the listener. The first track on the album is “Better Than I Know Myself.” With the sudden entrance of electric guitar and a synthy atmosphere, this track feels like an invigorating plunge into cold water. In seconds, the song converts from a distant-sounding beat to a lively anthem. In parallel with this surprising instrumentation, the lyrics offer a pleasant twist as well. “Don’t you know me… better than I know myself?” Jaffe sings at the chorus. Jaffe suggests that this person is close to him in a way that is hardly possible. Lyrics with a surprisingly sentimental twist also appear in “Sorry I Am.” This satisfyingly frank song could have easily taken the usual route with vague indications of missing a past lover, but“Sorry I Am” veers off the beaten path instead. Where the listener expects the typical phrase “drop-dead gorgeous”, Jaffe chooses to be more genuine and sings, “I wish I could tell you…you’re drop-dead kind.” Meanwhile, the warped-sounding instrumentation seems to further emphasize the distress the song conveys for having wronged someone who is, apparently, drop-dead kind.

—  WRBB