Gail Dreifus - Familiar (2025) Hi-Res

Gail Dreifus hails from Mariposa, California where she crafts folksongs, some of which are available now on her new album Familiar. Gail’s work in the folk world has yielded, among other things, seven CDs for National Parks across the United States, which she has performed with her children’s band, “Recycled String Band.” She’s been active in songwriting workshops as well. This new album retains the universal appeal of her band’s folk music, but it covers some perhaps some just slightly more grownup themes and sh0wcases Gail’s nimble intelligent lyrical prowess.

“Water Tower” starts the album with high mandolin and a shaker to hold the rhythm, it’s a very traditional style but with “she wants a man to take her hand, climb the water tower, kiss her at the top, admire her power.” Later on, as the original couple’s kids have grown and left the nest, the song’s protagonist reflects back on it all and in a blink, is ready to do it all again. Perhaps with someone new this time:”There’s room in her heart to love again.”

The title track “Familiar” is a blend of colors and sounds, “the familiar glance of a stranger that I’ve seen so many times before / painting in a studio while Picasso takes a break, mixing colors of my ordinary mistake / I’m hearing music reminding me to sing instead / it’s familiar.” It’s a song of reflection about the arts, their points of crossover, and following the one that feels most familiar.

“Don’t Catch Me” adds a dash of horns and swing “don’t catch me, let me fall this time / take my side / this is love.” Fall in love, don’t hold back. “Ghost in the Room” again flashes a lyrical depth, analyzing those times when you’re in relationship with someone who hasn’t let go of someone else from their past: “didn’t you look inside yourself and admit you didn’t let to / the courage to be alone to love again / there was always three of us….”

“Heart Storm” also probes the way songwriting is a way to process life’s challenges with lines like “writing songs is writing you away,” and we’re treated to high plucked strings and touches of piano plinks, which are a sonic delight. In “Road Map” the octave mandolin is showcased in an up tempo number with tambourine and “do you need a road map to find me?”

The music and the lyrics on this album are equally layered, thoughtful and rich. Familiar tackles themes like starting over after years in a marriage, noticing your own personal passion, being in relationship with someone who’s not fully yours, grey areas in various relationships and more of the nuanced areas of the human experience. Ultimately, it’s a talented musical and lyrical dance with what’s “familiar,” and an exploration into when the familiar can be ultra great or when it’s something you’re ready to move on from, depending on the context.