Kevin Bronson on October 14th, 2015

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Gregory Uhlmann plays guitar for the new quartet Fell Runner, who this summer released a debut album of rare sophistication. Uhlmann’s solo debut is “It’s Not Your Fault,” a rapturous chamber-pop gem that imagines Nick Drake, Elliott Smith or (his stated influence) Jeff Tweedy as arranged by Bon Iver. “Tell me, is this love / or just a good time?” Uhlmann asks, leading into the mournful bass clarinet (Andrew Conrad) and strings (Lauren Baba) that serenade his memories of a wintry walk along Lake Michigan in his native Chicago. Cari Stevens adds background vocals, and Tim Carr (who recorded and co-produced) the restless stir of percussion on the song, which, Uhlmann says, is “generally about how often we blame ourselves and others for things we/they can’t help.” So marvelous, such melancholy.

||| Stream: “It’s Not Your Fault”