I love records that feel familiar without being predictable. Some of the best music usually lives somewhere in that in between spot between comfort and curiosity, and Eric Selby’s new record Five. achieves exactly that.

The album’s opening track, “The Water,” sets the tone perfectly. It’s a song built on longing not just for a person, but for the calming pull of water itself. Selby has said that he feels most at peace on the beach, and here he captures that almost primal draw towards lakes, rivers and oceans. Deep, sometimes overwhelming, always moving. This is songwriting that doesn’t need to explain itself. Selby says about “The Water”:

“It is said that we, as humans, are drawn to the water. Whether it’s a lake, a river, a creek or an ocean, we seem to find our zen there. I once heard that as a species, we initially came from the water and so we feel at one with the water and return to it. This makes so much sense to me because, for me, I think I am at my happiest at the beach. I wanted to catch this longing feeling to the water in this song and to connect it with the love of water and the love of a partner.”

“Supposed To Be This Way” has a slower but steady reassuring rhythm. Written in Hawaii right after the 2024 election, it’s reflective of a moment in time. Selby captures a mood of uncertainty and quiet acceptance. He wrote it on his phone because he didn’t have a guitar with him, and he recorded both melody and lyrics in a voice memo. You can hear a definite rawness in his vocals, along with the steady piano chords. But this song doesn’t fight its own simplicity, or use too much in way of minor chords. It stays more on the brighter side, not in an upbeat way but just letting the emotions sit.

Then comes “Spare Oom,” with a whimsical introduction that leads into playful nostalgia. This is a reflective song about maintaining wonder even as life grow more and more complicated. Selby uses imagery here from childhood novel favorites like The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe and Peter Pan, giving it an almost childlike feel, while still sounding mature and grounded. It’s a rare thing: a song that can be both whimsical and deeply true.

Other tracks such as “Shake the Blues” demonstrate Selby’s genuine songwriting talent, with the lyrics and musical elements painting a true picture. Gentle, swirling and luminous guitars remind the listener of the sun shimmering gently through the trees, and Selby’s vocal harmonies blend beautifully as he sings about accepting the fate of having to walk away from a relationship.

“The Chesapeake” is a standout track on this record for its musical arrangements and experimental approach. Working with a subtle sense of drama, Selby is not afraid to let the groove take the lead and he is equally comfortable letting the song drift into cinematic soundscapes where the instruments are like characters rather than just accompaniment. There is an expansive refrain here with electric guitar that really builds on the blending of prog rock and synth textures with rootsy storytelling.

Selby has said that this record represents who he is now – how we all evolve, devolve and reimagine ourselves over the passage of time. The thread of the reference to water, love, fear, reflection, home and life in general is where he builds a personal world that the listener feels comfortable with. Almost as if you are reading intimate journal entries that somehow manage to speak for everyone.

Five. was recorded at The Facility Nashville, which is known for its high end analog and digital gear as well as its location proximal to Music Row. Its a space that captures performance authentically rather than polishing it into submission. And you can hear the room in these tracks. In the air around the drums, the way that the bass and guitars settle into the groove.

While there’s a temptation for artists to either give listeners exactly what they expect or to push so hard against expectations that they lose people along the way.

Five. avoids both of these traps. It’s approachable without being obvious, thoughtful without being heavy handed. Here, Eric Selby has achieved an authentically honest work with music that feels familiar and also completely new in elements, like finding a secret room in a house you thought you already knew.

Keep up with Eric Selby on his Website

Stream music on Spotify and Apple Music