Theres a cool, clean strum that introduces Watercress’. An immediately noticeable shift in mood from the last time we checked in with S. Carey. He was heavy-hearted on 2022s Break Me Open crestfallen and reckoning after a big love lost. And so, Watercress sets us off with the ringing of hard-won hope. It is in fact only in the clear, shallow waters that watercress grows. And these are the very places that Sean Carey the human being returns to again and again to fish, to reflect, and to grow. Seasons have passed over and hes spent time healing in the water, flowing and still. The pieces have been collected and reassembled. Of course, theres always gonna be a wistful quality to S. Careys music. But here, its the bright, crisp October morning kind of wistful.

These guitar-forward songs are in many ways an extension of 2018s beloved Hundred Acres. The guitars are driving the bus. The drums are the backbone. And Seans voice is telling the tale. Seems like a simple recipe but theres more nuance here than highwire act. Recorded at Hive in Eau Claire by Zach Hanson and Brian Joseph, there’s the usual cast of characters providing instrumentation and co-writes when needed, and guest singers Gia Margaret and Hannah Hebl blending into the fabric beautifully to create a sound that’s familiar to S. Carey, almost nostalgic but also shiny and new.

Sean Carey has been a vital organ of Justin Vernons Bon Iver project for over fifteen years. Beginning with 2010s All We Grow, his four albums and some epic EPs have all been, in ways both overt and subtle, naturalistic explorations of landscapes of the heart and of the real world, each crafted with the patience of a true fisherman and the acumen of a folk-jazz phenom.

1. Watercress
2. Daylight
3. Honey-Eyed
4. Anchorage