Local artist Seth Sherman releases new album

Some music is so sweet sounding and soulfully sincere that you can really kick back, relax and be confident that it will elicit nostalgic feelings and good vibes. Austin musician Seth Sherman's compositions and brazen songwriting definitely convey this sense of reminiscence and a variety of emotions.

Sherman's new album "When the Moment is True" is an amalgam of delicately radiant finger plucking, polished and poignant lyrics and satisfying melodies and is available on iTunes, Spotify and Bandcamp.

He recorded the album alone, playing every instrument himself, but has collected other musicians over the past six months to perform his music live. The full band outside of Sherman consists of Drew Schlegel on bass, Dieter Ray Langendorf Geisler on keyboard, Steve Anderson on drums, Morris Ramos on guitar and Devon McDermott singing backup vocals.

Sherman said he worked on the album exclusively off and on for the past two and a half years, and is now working on more collaborative songwriting with the rest of the band. A seasoned musician, Sherman started playing music as a kid and has been a key player in other rock bands such as Early Lines and Haunt. He toured as a solo act opening for former bandmate Daniel Francis Doyle, and distributed earlier recordings of his songs at different shows across the country.

"Before [the album] I just wanted to play," Sherman said, "now I'm learning to be a little more ambitious."

His ardor and passion unequivocally surface in his new album, especially in the contrasting tracks "Soft and Sweet" and "You'll Never Know Why." He said much of his lyrical inspiration evolves from philosophical and existential musings of his, during difficult periods in his life. Musically, his poppy folk-rock style and structures evoke the sound of classic American finger-pickers of the 60s such as John Fahey and Peter Lang.

Schlegel said he was a fan of Sherman's music before joining the band, would help motivate Sherman to play more shows, and book him to play parties and events whenever possible.

"I'd be kind of lost without someone like Drew," Sherman said. "I would not have played so many shows."

Sherman's CD release concert will be Dec. 8 at Mohawk, with other performances by Daniel Francis Doyle and Marriage Material. Visit sethshermanmusic.com for more information about the album or upcoming concert dates.