With all this lore in mind, it’s very tempting to conclude that her first solo effort “is highly influenced by her own friends.” For example, in “I Know My Way Around” and “Waving,” as Matt Berninger sang, it’s “easy to find” Bridgers-Dacus-Baker-esque croons and define her music as straight Bridgerscore. However, we won’t listen to those Mephistophelean and Wolandian whispers about the bargain of easy comparisons and go by another road. Besides, the opener “Athens 1975,” jumping out at us with a cascade of graceful, percussion-like synths, shows us how wrong this assumption is. With the polyphonic meticulousness of Wilco’s “Cousin” and Margo Guryan’s “Take a Picture,” Sarah weaves here a multilayered tapestry of sound.

She could have stopped her exercitia by choosing common folk sonics, but instead, on Waving,’ we can hear a wide plethora of multilayered arrangements. These range from impressionistic piano fingerpicking reminiscent of Erik Satie and the 1960s mood of Nina Simone to a plume of synths in the vein of the War on Drugs (“Honda Battery”) and a hypnagogic atmosphere, fitting somewhere between Destroyer and Beach House on “Love & Loneliness.” It’s safe to say that if Dua Lipa revived ‘70s disco in her 2020s “Future Nostalgia,” then Goldstone has infused modern folk with playful ‘60s tunes in the way Nick Drake imbued folk-bent ballads with jazz influences during the era of folk giants like George Harrison and Joni Mitchell. Sometimes, the kaleidoscopic nature of the record even reminds us of Animal Collective.

No matter how strong the desire of attributing her to the folksy playbook, Sarah’s work consists of more academic, nostalgic, and piano-based music, similar to the sounds of Regina Spektor, Amanda Palmer, Tori Amos, Mitski,  whose influences can clearly be heard in her almost anti-folkish vocals in the title-track, “Waving.” Across 8 tracks, “Waving” self-confidently slides between intimate, poetic ballads and refreshing sixties-inspired beats. It demonstrates not only Sarah Goldstone’s exceptional feel for the genre, but also her sophisticated and poppy approach.

Order Waving by Sarah Goldstone HERE