With sincere and hauntingly rendered songs of insecurity, hope, fear and melencholy attitudes, seeping from an array of instrumentation and approaches, there is a certain low-fi quality that "Gardner" embraces that works well for this kind of emotionally exposing endeavor. Subtle touches of moody keys, soft shuffling drums, guitars of varying intensities and the warm female vocal presence that's supplied sporatically (and sweetly surprising on the chorus of "Backseat"), all weave together to offer a buffet of ideas presented here in "New Dawning Time".

Most songs encompass some sort of drifting, dreamy hook, in either the vocal lines or guitar workings, and are tangible from the first listen. Singer Aaron Stauffer, better known for his membership in Seaweed, does a stand-out job in the lyrics and executions with a hard to describe nasal, but very smooth, delivery along with his "Gardner" collaborator Van Conner (Screaming Trees), who supplies a grocery list on instrumentation throughout this release. Impressive are the number of stand-out "singles" littered throughout this disk. Hooks and nod-along melodies stumble out from every corner and make this whole effort a pleasing listen.

Their are nods to some SubPop contemporaries like Sebadoh and Eric's Trip, but Stauffer's song writing lends itself to more complete movements and stays away from the "experimentation" of those type of low-fi pioneers. Lyrically, sonically and emotionally connecting on almost every song, "Gardner" is one of the softest, yet most enjoyable disks I've heard in a long time. "It's a good plan/ If we can get it off the ground/ What a perfect lake to drown in..." croons Stauffer on "Canyon." There's a weird sense of being able to relate to such cryptic lyrics running thought this offering.

The scope of "New Dawning Time" is admirable and it hits on all levels, smoothly transitioning from one complete idea to the next. "Gardner" is what your cloudy afternoon was waiting for.