23 June 2009
CMU Daily
TW

Whistling away on the same thread as the likes of Kevin Devine and Iron & Wine is young Mr William Fitzsimmons of Pittsburgh, the youngest son of blind parents, the divorce of whom is the subject of Fitzsimmons' sophomore release, 'Goodnight'. "It was definitely one of the most depressed and dark periods I've ever been through," he says of creating the album. Well then. We can see why you called it 'Goodnight'. Gentle, perhaps a little unassuming, and certainly raw, 'Goodnight' is an acoustic and oftentimes dark ode to William's parents, and, while certainly sombre, is a pretty and delicate piece of work. As a multi-instrumentalist, Fitzsimmons incorporates banjos and the odd electric drumbeat to his primary base of acoustic guitar and soft, lilting vocals, which doesn't steer too far from comparability to British singer-songwriters James Yuill and Jeremy Warmsley. His style of music is unmistakably American though, and could probably feed half of the soundtracks at Sundance. Album opener 'It's Not True' is a beautiful highlight that builds up halfway through to something mercifully more than contemplative acoustic drivel (the trap that this entire album could fall into if it wasn't so sincere), and 'I Don't Love You Any More' more or less speaks for itself and the record's concept. 'Goodnight' is not an uplifting record, and it makes no apologies for this. Save it for a rainy day, though.