On his third album, Chasing the Chimera, Samuel Holden Jaffe — better known as Del Water Gap — tells stories of life, death, and the feelings experienced through it all. The Chimera, Jaffe describes on his website, “represents an illusion, an impossible dream, a wildly unrealistic ambition”. Throughout this project, Jaffe embraces the seeking of this force over the course of the record, where he details the trials of what it is like to love, to lose, and to feel everything in between. His tender songwriting is on display in full force as we experience every emotion of living during one of his most moving LP’s to date.
On Instagram, Jaffe states “some of these songs are for the people i’ve loved, some are for myself. one is for my grandma and one is for my mom and the daughter i hope to have some day —— some days i feel like someone who can only make mistakes. ive been afraid that i ruined my life before it began. i’ve been afraid of being found out. i think about the masks i wear as i face the world. i keep thinking i need to be fixed before i deserve peace. thats what chasing the chimera means to me. the impossible dream of impossible peace. the shimmering hope of codependence. “
In tandem with Gabe Goodman — a fellow producer and writer with whom Jaffe has collaborated with in the past — Del Water Gap goes back to his roots in indie-folk songwriting and production. Jaffe’s careful hand for the material on this record shows in soft instrumentations and delicate lyrics laced throughout the project. The album opens with “Marigolds,” where the opening instrumentation feels as though you are awaking into a new world before emerging into vivid songwriting. The lyrics detail a relationship filled with what-ifs and regrets. “I want to tell you I’m sorry– I never told you I loved you when I still could” rings throughout the chorus alongside Jaffee’s tender vocals.
Jaffe continues themes and feelings of past relationships, with juxtaposing tracks like the melodically catchy and upbeat “Small Town Joan of Arc” where he is in disbelief with the woman he’s describing and how she ever chose him. Versus the moodier, slower-tempoed “Eastside Girls” where Jaffe compares his ups and downs of relationships past.
The album displays a variety of pace throughout the tracks that explore varying themes, while keeping consistency in production and songwriting throughout it all. On “”How to Live”, Jaffe reaches the central themes of the album, the pushing and pulling of different emotions as we experience life and the struggles of it. Lyrics like “I’m so afraid you’re finding me out / But there’s something in the rough / Figuring out just how to live” emphasize the vulnerability and humanness that Jaffe emotes throughout the project.
Other standouts include the up–tempo “Damn,” where Jaffe experiments with playfulness in tone and lyrics like “I put your bathwater in my soup/ I hope my neighbor don’t mind the taste”. As well as “Ghost in a Uniform.” where Jaffe recounts a past relationship and the hope of not repeating his past mistakes.
The emotional ballad of “Please Follow,”is one of Jaffe’s most poignant and the well written songs on the record. This track shines in its vulnerable lines detailing the pain of losing a loved one so close to you. Standout lyrics, “It’s time to go to sleep / I’m gonna lay beside ya / I promise I won’t leave / ‘Til you’re deep under /You’ve lived a sacred life / I swear you’re not a monster / A daughter and a wife / And a mother,” display his radiant songwriting ability in full.
Throughout the record, Jaffe creates a comforting sonic experience that goes hand in hand with the subjects he frequents on this album. Covering themes of successful and unsuccessful relationships, uncertainty in life, grief for those loved and lost, and so much more, this album shines with its humanness, a much needed quality in a time where it seems everything is becoming less real.
Chasing the Chimera proves to be one of Del Water Gap’s most sonically cohesive listens to date, and alongside catchy and thoughtful production throughout the record proves musical consistency without repetition fatigue. Jaffee’s vulnerability in his lyrics, detailing his uncertainty in life, his mistakes and successes, this record connected deeply to those of us who feel like we struggle with the uncertainty. In Chasing the Chimera, Jaffe continues to prove his talents as one of the best indie songwriters currently in music, as he tells us its okay to still be human and to not be sure how.
Keep up with Del Water Gap:
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Crave Music Magazine 