Bizhiki @ Grand Theater

There’s a cool, clean strum that introduces ‘Watercress'. An immediately noticeable shift in mood from the last time we checked in with S. Carey. He was heavy-hearted on 2022’s ‘Break Me Open’ — crestfallen and reckoning after a big love lost. And so, ‘Watercress’ sets us off with the ringing of hard-won hope. It is in fact only in the clear, shallow waters that watercress grows. And these are the very places that Sean Carey the human being returns to again and again — to fish, to reflect, and to grow. Seasons have passed over and he’s spent time healing in the water, flowing and still. The pieces have been collected and reassembled. Of course, there’s always gonna be a wistful quality to S. Carey’s music. But here, it’s the bright, crisp October morning kind of wistful.