Out Now: Gabe Eisner - visions of domestic tranquility
démodé recordings is thrilled to bring you Visions of Domestic Tranquility, the latest album from the highly prolific and, until now, mostly unheard songwriter Gabe Eisner, out now.
For the past 10 years, the Montreal based artist has been churning out experimental bedroom pop music in near anonymity, quietly uploading his releases to Bandcamp without any sort of formal promotion, fanfare, or social media posts. To date, the prolific Eisner has released 14 full-length albums (soon to be 15), a collection of singles and a handful short EPs — an impressive body of work that jumps between sounds, aesthetics, and moods, from classic singer-songwriter folk to ‘60s bubblegum pop, beat driven electronica, art pop and even Atomic era exotica. Eisner successfully dips and weaves through such contrasting genres of music due to his masterful earnest approach to songwriting, which acts as a steady anchor and guide through all of his experimentation and exploration.
“Recording music is my attempt to archive my education in songwriting.” Says Eisner, “I’ve always recorded the second I’m done writing the song so everything is sort of suspended in amber. Every step of the way, for better or worse, learning how to sing, how to write a bridge, program drums, play keyboard etc, has been captured. I assumed that would only be interesting to me but who knows. I think there’s value in an uncurated glimpse into a songwriter's education. Personally, I think I’d be more blown away by a trick if the magician showed me how it works before even seeing it for the first time and I can’t be the only one drawn to a song's demo more than its final version.”
All of this education and experimentation culminates in the aptly named Visions of Domestic Tranquility, a stunning collection of songs self-recorded in the dead of winter 2023.
“VODT began as a writing exercise. Originally the concept was to write simple songs about the house I had just moved into with my girlfriend and another couple, and to do so with little to no literary devices. Turns out everything is a metaphor and its next to impossible to write about a room and not have it be about you.
This is perfectly reflected in the achingly nostalgic “Three Tiers” which strips away Eisner’s typically lush production flourishes to a hushed intimacy with mostly just an acoustic guitar and delicate vocals. The warm and paired down production mirrors Eisner’s heartfelt lyrics.
“‘Three Tiers’ was the first song I wrote for the album. I set out to write about the things I saw in different rooms of our new house: a pail of paint, some drawers, a spider. I tried to keep it upbeat and simple. My roommate had one piece of art with her that she put up in the kitchen, a black and white photograph of the New York skyline with the World Trade Center standing tall. The chorus on that song ends with “a picture of the world trade” which is just a literal description of a thing in a room but it’s also this foreboding symbol that perhaps captures an anxiety about the foundation of our new house. That’s about the time I realized everything is a metaphor.”
Eisner also has a knack for writing undeniably catchy yet compositionally extravagant guitar pop that calls to mind XO era Elliott Smith, Jon Brion and Beach Boys. This isn’t accidental…
“I listen to a lot of Rocketship, Stereolab, The Softies, The Impressions, Yo La Tengo, Sparklehorse, Lily Konigsberg, Kleenex Girl Wonder, Quasi, but I’m not so sure they show up in my music the way Elliott Smith’s influence does. I taught myself how to play guitar by learning his songs and I think at this point his style of playing is pretty inextricable from my understanding of what a guitar even is. I’ve always been attracted to music that seems paradoxically impossible to grasp how it was made and like it’s the most accessible thing in the world. I think all those bands have that in common.”
The song “Phone Booth,” is a perfect example of this style of paradoxical songwriting not only compositionally but thematically, juggling whimsy and reflection with a healthy dose of humor.
“There’s that anecdote about Wilco needing to write a hit for ‘Summerteeth’ so Jeff Tweedy penned ‘Can’t Stand It’ on an airplane. It's this pop music cliché where all these great songs were written in five minutes. ‘Phone Booth’ was my attempt at speed writing a hit for VODT. I’m not so sure it's about anything. It’s kind of psychedelic which I guess is further proof it's not about anything.”
Many artists try to experiment with contrasting moods and genre clashing explorations but typically end up with albums that feel disjointed, over-produced, or disingenuous. On Visions of Domestic Tranquility, Eisner never lets his production upstage the songwriting at hand. Each swell of mellotron, popping percussion, or orchestral strings serve to round out the sparse, emotive song-writing that serves as the anchor and beating heart of the album. “I tried to record with little to no editing. The skeleton of each song is a guitar and vocal track, usually first take, with minimal overdubs after the fact. To achieve maximum homeyness, I figured mono cassette tape was the way to go. In short, simplicity in form and content equals VODT.”
In the current age of limitless accessibility, it’s rare to stumble upon such a young, masterful songwriter releasing mini-epics in near total obscurity. But now, at the urging of close friends and fellow musicians (and the help of Izzy MK, the creative force behind NYC post-punks Stripes, who took it upon herself to upload all of Eisner’s releases to an online distributor) his entire catalog of releases are now available to stream everywhere for the first time, a true treasure trove of songwriting gold waiting to be discovered. With Visions of Domestic Tranquility, we hope to open the door to folks a little wider.
“I’ve also been doing it so long one way, why not the other? I’m glad the music I listen to was released. I think this new record builds on everything I love about songwriting whilst not trying to up the ante or showboat. Seems as good a record as any to step out with.”
Editor’s Note:
I personally met Gabe in NYC through Craigslist in the winter of 2022 after he responded to a post I had up looking for bandmates and/or songwriting partners. When we eventually met in person, I was A) relieved to find that he wasn’t a serial killer or scam artist and B) overwhelmingly surprised to discover that he was one of the kindest people I had ever met and equally one of the greatest songwriters I’ve ever heard. Listening to Gabe’s music and engaging with him in endless talks about songwriting inspired me even more to better my songwriting and eventually release my own album. Everytime I hear a new song from him I get inspired. I can confidently say that Sunshine Convention wouldn’t exist today without his friendship, guidance, encouragement and art.