(Photo Manipulation by Nathan Rubin)
Like the best sophomore albums, Del Water Gap’s “I Miss You Already + I Haven’t Left Yet” feels like an expansion of the artist’s horizons. It is still recognizably Del Water Gap. The catchy, repetitive hooks, memorable lyrics and creative production that were the highlights of his eponymous first album are all present. However, they’ve been experimented with, expanded upon, and in the latter half of the album, overshadowed by exciting forays into a darker, fuller sound.
Del Water Gap knows how to write indie pop, but luckily for the listener, he does not see the genre as a locked room. Instead, it’s an open door, and in this album, he walks right through it.
Samuel Holden Jaffe, under the stage name Del Water Gap, has been releasing music since 2015 but gained international attention in May 2020 with his hit single “Ode to a Conversation Stuck in Your Throat.” With its instantly catchy lyrics and mellow-yet-up-tempo chorus, “Ode to a Conversation Stuck in Your Throat” was destined to be an indie pop classic. The song currently has 787 million listens on Spotify.
“I Miss You Already + I Haven’t Left Yet” was released on Sep. 29 after five preceding singles: “All We Ever Do Is Talk,” “Quilt of Steam,” “Losing You,” “Coping on Unemployment” and “NFU.” The first on that list opens the album, and the initial listen bears a lot of resemblance to “Ode to a Conversation Stuck in Your Throat.” The most striking similarity is the song’s catchy, repetitive melodies. The post-chorus to “All We Ever Do is Talk” is a repeated stream of “It was good” while on “Ode to a Conversation Stuck in Your Throat,” Del Water Gap begs, “Tell me that nobody else touches you like I do, like I do / Oh, tell me that nobody else touches you like me.”
However, “All We Ever Do Is Talk” fills the space in a way that “Ode to a Conversation Stuck in Your Throat” does not; the production is so layered, the vocals and electric guitar so reverbed, that the effect is almost cinematic. The music video, posted on YouTube on July 12, is a perfect translation from auditory to visual. Stylized to look like grainy footage from the ’80s or ’90s, the video features leather trenchcoats, balloons, paper maché masks with Xs for eyes, a desperate nighttime sprint through the city and Del Water Gap listening to a Walkman on a Ferris wheel. I was left feeling like I had watched some kind of highbrow indie short film that just happened to use Del Water Gap’s song as its #maincharacterenergy soundtrack.
However, cinematic scale is not the only production effect Del Water Gap has up his sleeve. He is a remarkably creative and versatile producer, hopping from bubbly, syncopated rhythms on “Quilt of Steam” to pan flute and a gritty vocal filter on “Gone In Seconds” to a sparkling kaleidoscope of guitar and keys on “Doll House.” In addition, Del Water Gap is not afraid to collaborate; Arlo Parks contributed vocals for “Quilt of Steam,” and “Gone In Seconds” features Clairo on the clarinet.
Although the album is musically and thematically cohesive, the second half of the record marks a bit of a departure in topic and tone. The first four tracks mostly concern the various stages of a relationship, from its very beginnings on “Doll House,” to self-doubt on “Losing You” and “NFU,” to reminiscing about the past on “Quilt of Steam” and “All We Ever Do Is Talk.”
However, “Coping On Unemployment” feels a little more personal. In one of the verses, Del Water Gap rasps, “She slept in her mascara / And says, ‘I think your music got worse’ / ‘Since you went fully sober, at least now you won’t kill yourself’ / (You need to get some help).”
The fear that suffering is somehow necessary for the creation of good art seems to be something that Del Water Gap wrestles with. On the other hand, he is aware that the fear is irrational. The slow-tempo, acoustic “Want It All” opens with, “Thinkin’ ‘bout killin’ myself all the time / Ain’t too good for business / Ain’t good for this headache / Ain’t good for my mind.” Later in the chorus, Del Water Gap sings, “I want it all, want it / No, I want nothing at all / When it comes down to it.”
This dilemma is an apt summary of the questions the album has been exploring. “I Miss You Already + I Haven’t Left Yet” seems to be both celebrating the total surrender of identity to a feeling or a relationship and questioning whether that instinct to be completely consumed is always a healthy one.
The instrumentation mirrors the shift in the lyrics toward darker, more personal topics as the record pivots to a darker, fuller sound. “Gemini,” the sixth track on the album, uses drums, an excellent bass line and tongue-in-cheek lyrics to create a gritty, sensual sound reminiscent of Arctic Monkeys. “Beach House” takes that up a notch, with a disquieting, droning siren backgrounding the production that makes the lyrics’ description of being stuck “In a k-hole listenin’ to Beach House” feel extraordinarily real. Lyrically, it’s one of the best songs on the album, featuring gems like “In a blind range feelin’ like a Boy Scout” and “I’m a cataract on the heal.”
However, the overall best of these darker songs is the groovy, swaggering “Glitter & Honey.” With a relatively sparse production, the lyrics have space to shine, especially the pre-chorus: “She said, ‘The city is pain but the night’s so gorgeous’ / ‘I’m not vain, just a little bit bored of this.’” The chorus is even catchier: “She’s one of those glitter and honey / Type to get stuck to your soul.”
Given that “I Miss You Already + I Haven’t Left Yet” began with the layered, cinematic “All We Ever Do Is Talk,” one might expect Del Water Gap to end the album on a similar note. However, the closing track, “We Will Never Be Like Anybody Else,” is the exact opposite, with an extraordinarily intimate production consisting of only a gorgeous, lyrical piano line and the most moving vocal performance Del Water Gap has delivered so far. Given how technically and musically creative Del Water Gap has proven himself to be, the choice to end softly feels like a fitting demonstration of just how unlimited indie pop can be in the hands of the right artist.
“I Miss You Already + I Haven’t Left Yet” is a poignant and lyrical exploration of addiction, our relationships to other people, self-image as an artist and love in all its stages. Its expansiveness in sound mirrors its expansiveness in topic, showcasing an extraordinarily impressive musical fluidity. Del Water Gap knows indie pop inside and out, which means he knows as well as anyone that the genre’s possibilities, like his own as a musician, are utterly limitless.
If you or someone you know is having thoughts of self-harm or suicide, you can call Student Intervention Services at (404) 430-1120 or reach Emory’s Counseling and Psychological Services at (404) 727-7450 or https://counseling.emory.edu/. You can reach the Georgia Suicide Prevention Lifeline 24/7 at (800) 273-TALK (8255) and the Suicide and Crisis Lifeline 24/7 at 988.
Mila Kocic (26C, she/her) is from the Boston area, major TBD. She spends her free time reading poetry, exploring Atlanta's arts scene, and making unnecessarily specific Spotify playlists.
