Daniel Rossen

Daniel Rossen first rose to fame as the guitarist and co-lead vocalist of the indie rock band Grizzly Bear. Rossen long studied jazz and classical music, developing the sort of craftsperson’s skills that were so apparent in every intricate fold of his former projects. But there is an unfussy hardiness to You Belong There, his new album, plus a punchiness supplied by his newfound self-sovereignty. It’s there in the roiling piano and clattering drums (played by Chris Bear, one of very few guests here) and gnarled guitar of “Tangle,” a broken waltz that arrives in multiple mighty waves. It’s there in the skittering rhythms and darting strings and winds of “Shadow in the Frame,” a tremendous and riveting contemplation of mortality amid the ancient and enchanting landscape of the American Southwest. It’s there in the deceptive simplicity and keyhole dynamics of opener “It’s a Passage,” a magnetic tune whose scenes of wintry idyll and existential confusion perfectly suit its velvet-gloved power. These songs balance finesse and force without compromising either — or anything at all, for that matter.

When Rossen talks about the music he has made, even that of You Belong There, he is appreciably modest, perhaps to the point of self-deprecation. But after a lifetime in the making, the 44 minutes of his debut LP crackle with the resolve and assuredness of a musician empowered by the act of sounding only like himself. There is turmoil, woe, anxiety, and frailty bound up in these songs, feelings we inevitably navigate as we age. But there is also the ineffable splendor of self-expression, a thrill reserved for those bold enough to pursue it. “Can you see me now?” Rossen sings slowly near the end of the title track, marveling at each syllable as though it were some previously unknown treasure. At last, absolutely.