By Juan Zambrano
Yesterday Is Gone, the debut album by Dana Gavanski, is a mellow journey where the artist’s goal is “a reckoning with myself.”
The mellow tone of Yesterday Is Gone is evident from the opening notes of One By One. Appropriately folk-laden guitars and sublime accompanying instrumentation ease the listener in while a distant distortion subconsciously encourages the listener to think about the song’s lyrics. One By One perfectly encapsulates the general atmosphere of Yesterday Is Gone. A beautiful mix of the peaceful and the pensive.
A slightly vintage tone is one of the major contributors to the pleasant soundscapes of Yesterday Is Gone. These sensibilities can be heard in the instrumentation of tracks like Good Instead of Bad, with its Motown-esque opening notes and rhythm section.
It’s on the vocal front, however, where the vintage undertones of Yesterday Is Gone are most evident. Gavanski’s performance throughout is confident and pensive, creating a mix of the songbird sensibilities of Joni Mitchel, and the sultriness found in the bombastic leading lady numbers of classic Hollywood musicals. This eclectic performance is one of the standout elements of Yesterday Is Gone, cementing Gavanski as a voice to listen out for in the current music scene.
If the soundscapes are the tranquil ying of Yesterday Is Gone, then the lyrics are the album’s reflective yang. Relationships, specifically the end of one, makes up the subject matter on Yesterday Is Gone, with Gavanski musing about many aspects of said end. From the feelings of isolation felt by one half of the relationship, described in Catch, to sadness over the loss of a love, nothing is off limits.
Despite the subject matter, Gavanski’s tone throughout is not one of heartbreak. Rather, Gavanski reflects with the intent of learning to let go and move on as a hopefully stronger and wiser individual. The result of these reflections is a beautiful work of art, that sees its creator get back up after being so painfully knocked down.
Yesterday Is Gone was co-produced by Dana Gavanski, Toronto-based musician Sam Gleason and Mike Lindsey. Gavansky was set to tour the album across the UK and Europe but had to reschedule performances in light of the global coronavirus pandemic.
Listen to Yesterday Is Gone on your preferred streaming service, or on Bandcamp.
