Amongst the ever-changing flurry of modern life, in his third album, Chasing The Chimera, Brooklyn-based Del Water Gap (Holden Jaffe) grants himself the vulnerable space to take a breath. As the title suggests, the album documents the pain of chasing after something that no longer exists, delving extensively into Jaffe’s past relationships, fixated on having not yet reached, what he describes to Dork Magazine, as ‘the illusion of arrival’. 

Across the twelve tracks, Jaffe unlearns the false idea that there is a decisive point where we learn ‘How To Live’ this life. Chasing The Chimera brims with juxtaposition and self-questioning, complemented by the messy existentialism that Jaffe sets out to reckon with in this introspective record. 

Chasing The Chimera brims with juxtaposition and self-questioning, complemented by the messy existentialism that Jaffe sets out to reckon with in this introspective record. 

I first discovered Del Water Gap in 2020 with the release of his most well-known track to date, ‘Ode to a Conversation Stuck in Your Throat’, followed by the release of his self-titled debut album. A similar high-energy sound, with heavy basslines and reverbed yearning vocals, was carried forward in his sophomore album, I Miss You Already + I Haven’t Left Yet.  And so, on first listen of Chasing The Chimera, I was naturally drawn to the opening three tracks that emulate this sound most familiarly. 

‘Marigolds’ and ‘Small Town Joan of Arc’ kick off the album, thematically initiating an anxiety towards the past, with ‘Marigolds’ ruminating on his regret of not telling a previous partner how he truly felt: ‘And there’s still a moment where my stomach sinks / Like I got it all wrong / And you were the one’. It is with ‘How To Live’, my personal favourite, that we dive headfirst into Jaffe’s existentialism. Its large, reeling chorus feels reminiscent of ‘All We Ever Do Is Talk’ from his sophomore album. The lyrics voice his frustration with the not-quite-enough-ness of life, and his difficulty in being satisfied with and by himself. However, there remains a commitment to the belief that there must be something he is searching for, that ‘there’s gold underneath the rust’, as if some kind of wisdom may be found from excavating his past. 

It is with ‘How To Live’, my personal favourite, that we dive headfirst into Jaffe’s existentialism.

The subsequent ‘Please Follow’ is a rather dramatic shift into the crux of the album, descending into a more melancholic sound. In ‘Eastside Girls’, ‘New Personality’, and ‘We Don’t Have To Take It Slow’, Jaffe dreamily ruminates extensively on the pain he has experienced with past lovers. 

‘New Personality’ is a standout track for me. Jaffe’s quieter vocals dwell on a partner whose insincerity led him to wish he was less sensitive and that ‘he could just have fun’, while a delicate saxophone solo closes the track. However, besides ‘New Personality’, the repeated slower elements of the album slightly drag, despite demonstrating the monotony of a relentless obsession with the past.

However, besides ‘New Personality’, the repeated slower elements of the album slightly drag, despite demonstrating the monotony of a relentless obsession with the past.

The next couple songs offer a welcome change of pace, as emotional clarity begins to take hold. ‘Ghost in the Uniform’, undeniably the album’s catchiest track, continues the theme of being tied up in the past. Nonetheless, the carefree sound reflects Jaffe’s desire to move on, finally acknowledging that his previous partner is now a metaphoric ‘ghost’. 

The final three tracks allow the album to return to a slower pace; however, this time effused with acceptance. The lyrics of ‘Waiting For the Day’ look to a time he is no longer caught up in the past, no longer ‘stuck inside on a sunny afternoon’. This hopefulness is beautifully accompanied with a fresh twang-y folk sound. 

In ‘Damn’, Jaffe neatly calls back to ‘Marigolds’ and ‘How To Live’, whilst carrying the acceptance of not reaching complete satisfaction in life; ‘And the pearls I’ve been diving for, They’ve been pebbles all along’. He recognises that the flustering dynamism of life is in fact, a freedom; ‘When the morning starts to break / But you feel sick to your stomach anyway / That’s what it’s like to be free’. 

The album concludes with the sweet but slow ‘Eagle In The Nest’. While his trusty existentialism continues in the chorus (‘It’s so hard being alive / No wonder everyone dies’), we are also given reassurance that things will fall in place. This track sees Jaffe imagining a bright future, paralleling his relationship with his mother, his ‘first Platonic lover’, to an imagining of having his own daughter, and being able to replicate that love. 

All in all, despite a slight repetitiveness at the heart of the album, I find Chasing The Chimera a very enjoyable and reflective offering from Del Water Gap. It is certainly an album I have found myself listening to on repeat, and look forward to hearing some of these songs live at his upcoming Chasing the Chimera World Tour.

8/10