If This Is The End

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  Best, Favorite, & Most Interesting Albums Of 2023

  Mark Harrison

  • Genre: Indie folk.

  • Influenced by: Ryan Adams, Dashboard Confessional, Neil Young, Tom Waits, Leonard Cohen.

  • Similar artists: Donovan Woods, Dawes, Ray Davies, Sufjan Stevens, Mount Eerie.

  • About this album: Born out of a soul-searching period in Gundersen's life where he was working a construction job after having enjoyed a successful career in music, the songs on this album detail the regret and failure of those years, but also highlights his newfound outlook and a renewed sense of hope moving forward. This makes for a more upbeat vibe than those familiar with Gundersen’s work are likely accustomed to – he even acknowledges, on the title track, that maybe it “sounds a little corny, a little like John Denver,” but there’s nothing corny to be found here – the same song is a delicate reflection on a contented life, thematically reminiscent to CSN&Y’s Our House. Perhaps due to Gundersen’s temporary absence from the music scene, a lot of folkies (see what I did there?) seem to have slept on this album. That’s a shame, because it deserved much more attention. Hopefully, both it (and Gundersen’s work overall) will yet find its way to the wider audience it so richly deserves.

  • Metacritic Score: N/A.

  • Grammy Nominations: None.

  • Song To Sample: Swim and the title track, If This Is The End.