Max Bien Kahn - When I Cross It Off (2023)

When I Cross it Off is an album about big things and little things - - grief, heartbreak, new love, sex, making coffee, walking dogs, and getting through your day, one task at a time. Bien Kahn approaches universal themes like processing loss and falling in love with a sense of levity that reveals an underlying wisdom: in the wake of grief, ultimately it's the embracing of the little, everyday pleasures that brings happiness back into your life. As such, this album was made more so for dancing than quiet contemplation - - with shakers, tambourines, and bongos featuring heavily alongside lap steel, organ, vocal harmonies, and the occasional horn section. Enlisting frequent collaborator Duff Thompson to co-produce alongside him, Bien Kahn employed minimal gear to create a live sound peppered with experimental tones, designed to bring some levity and rhythm into the listener's life, too.

The album title refers to The List, a song about how easy it is to add and how great it feels to cross something off your list. It’s just one example how Max Bien Kahn makes the mundane sound poetic. He doesn’t need a lot of words to evoke a story or induce a feeling with his songs. It’s almost effortless. Helped out by gorgous arrangements, When I Cross It Off is a generous record that can be appreciated upon multiple levels.