Gabriel Birnbaum Patron Saint of Tireless Losers LP

Gabriel Birnbaum cuts straight to the spiritual essence of the characters he inhabits, painting affecting and lovingly drawn scenes bolstered by cathartic hooks. Like one of his own espoused patron saints, Paul Simon, Birnbaum sets new challenges for himself with each recording, honing the nuts and bolts of his songcraft and pinpointing unexpected new aesthetic contexts for it.

The lush and psychedelic folk-rock songs on his 2024 album Patron Saint of Tireless Losers confidently cut to the essence of his artistry, highlighting a mature narrative voice, and a consistently surprising musical syntax. As much as anything Birmbaum has put into the world, it's a tour de force that thrives on both self-assuredness and restlessness—marks of a crucial and constantly evolving artist whose work it's impossible to turn away from once you tap into its frequency.

["Perfect Again" is] a shimmering piece of jangly psych-pop built around a playful Rhodes melody, galloping drums, and Birnbaum's charmingly lowkey delivery.

deeply romantic, enraptured with being in love and alive, while not the least bit shy to exercise demons across stately ballads and plugged-in power pop prayers.

Birnbaum's deep, soulful drawl invites comparisons to Craig Finn and Joe Henry, a burnished instrument that serves the songs extremely well.