Waking hours

Evan Shornstein is looking for stillness. That may seem strange for a drummer, especially one who’s been constantly fidgeting and tapping on things since childhood, but it’s absolutely true. Perhaps it’s a byproduct of his upbringing. A native of Woodstock in upstate New York, he literally grew up on an isolated country road and spent a significant chunk of his formative years outdoors. At the time, he didn’t always appreciate it, but now, as an adult who’s spent the past several years living in New York City, he’s increasingly drawn to the nature that was so accessible in his youth.

His latest album, Waking Hours, is rooted in the chaos of modern life, and specifically our incessant need to stay busy, keep up with everything, and never stop creating. Living this way can be an exhausting prospect, and it’s what sparked Shornstein’s search for stillness in the first place. On a basic level, the LP is about finding room to occasionally pause and take a breath, but escapism isn’t the end goal here. Shornstein is interested in cultivating the mental headspace to question our hectic status quo and simply ask if there’s a better way to do things. Musically, it’s the most personal and open-minded thing he’s ever created, a genre-agnostic effort that impressively builds upon his electronic chops while simultaneously venturing into pop territory and putting his own vocals center stage.