Familiar Groundis Abney most comfortable with himself, taking the time to soak in elongated chord progressions and absorb the world around him. In nine songs, he manages to plumb the melancholic depths of existence while still imbuing the album with life-affirming optimism. This isn’t the blind positivity of someone unwilling to explore the darkness, but the hopeful words from an artist who’s been to the other side of the moon and back. After your first, fourth, or fortieth listen, you’ll come away “more in tune with today than yesterday or tomorrow."
