by Jesse Popeski
Micah Erenberg’s sophomore album Love Is Gonna Find You is the songwriter’s most confessional album to date, as he searches for optimism amidst the uncertainties of life.
“Living a life of regret / Wish I were without this crippling doubt,” he sings in “Just Who I Am,“ perhaps the most autobiographical song on the album.
Self-doubt permeates many songs on the album, but something about the buoyancy of the music, the honest, worn-out quality of Erenberg’s voice, and the self-deprecating humour of his lyrics prevent the album from ever being a downer. Micah Erenberg’s brand of dealing with despair is pretty fun.
Musically the album has many modes, always enhancing the meaning of the lyrics. The album opens with the lush folk rock of “Do It For Love,” with a wall of sound about as epic as it gets without being over the top. On the opposite side of the arranging spectrum, the sparseness of the folky “Bored” and the piano ballad “Love Is Gonna Find You” match the earnestness of the songs.
“Somewhere Beyond The Ocean” and “Sunspill” explore yet another facet of Erenberg’s creativity, with noisy distortion and ambiance. The most successful marriage of music and lyrics on the album is the second track, “What Am I Doing Here,” another autobiographical song about life as a touring musician (“they call me a lucky man / but I don’t see my friends or family”), set to the tune of an electronic drum loop with an energetic acoustic guitar solo; this creative quirkiness is what prevents the despair from being too desolate.
Ultimately, optimism defeats pessimism on Love Is Gonna Find You. “Through all the daily trouble, you can rely on me…patience will set love free,” Erenberg sings in the title track. This kind of sweetness appears in surprising places throughout the album, combating the darkness with an innocence that Micah embodies sincerely. The album is an ode to persistence, to dealing with life’s obstacles with quirky creativity, self-deprecating humour, and many layers of noisy guitars.
Micah Erenberg performs a hometown release show on Thursday, November 14th at The West End Cultural Centre at 8pm
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