It’s been quite the journey for David Arn. He’s navigated through what would eventually become three of the more generously-labeled “alternative” eras in the history of pop music to come out on the other side of things sounding a lot more focused than the majority of his peers in 2021, and this is certainly evident when listening to his all-new album Watershed. From its title track to “Remember the Ring,” this is a record that was designed to demonstrate his evolutionary trajectory, and to me, it hits the mark rather brilliantly.
Let’s get into some highlights here right off the bat. “Blood and Bone” and “Thought By Now” are, in my opinion, the most mature lyrical specimens this singer/songwriter has cut thus far in his campaign, but they nonetheless come up short in minimizing the impact of the other material on this disc. There’s an angularity to the storytelling we encounter in the aforementioned title track and “A Different Heart” that speaks to the experimental side of Arn’s sound, and if it gets a little more development time I think it’s going to produce even more chills in his next proper LP.
I adore how much ground is covered in Watershed is comprised of eight tracks, and if other players in the acoustic/folk-pop genre are wondering how to broach the task of making a solid full-length studio album, they would do well to take a page out of Arn’s book in the future. Without being formulaic, he finds his groove in this tracklist early on and applies what feels like the same template to a variety of different narratives and nuanced melodies – with, of course, his honey-sweet voice being the linchpin throughout.
Arn’s harmonies in “Remember the Ring,” “Thought By Now” and “A Different Heart” are reminiscent of the legendary Paul Simon, though I would stop shy of saying that any of the songs sound like a direct throwback. There’s already plenty of nonsense coming out of the latest ‘retro’ movement to gather steam in the international underground without this quality player throwing his hat into the ring, and he rightly decides to stick with something a lot more relevant and endearing in this release (while showing off his influences simultaneously, I should add).
A brooding singer/songwriter of the finest tradition, I think it should be said that David Arn has indeed found his creative wings in Watershed, and I don’t expect him to come down from the ensuing flight anytime soon. Everything about this album feels like graduation and given just how much potential it has for bringing Arn’s music to a much larger collection of fans and critics from around the globe, I think its title is one of the more ironic I’ve come across in a long time. He’s not retreating here; he’s blazing forward into the unknown rather bravely.
Claire Uebelacker