'Pangaea'-Dylan Gilbert takes on the world

By Sarah Hall

Salisbury Post

What do plate tectonics and Dylan Gilbert’s latest album have in common? More than you might think.

“Pangaea” is the title of Gilbert’s newest and best CD, and also the name of the supercontinent that began separating 200 million years ago to form our current globe.

So I couldn’t help but ask this prolific and seemingly tireless songwriter if continental drift is a metaphor for the fact that he is venturing out more, both musically, and in life, as he makes the transition from Wunderkind to young adult. And to continue the metaphor, does the fact that the continents continue to move apart herald wider musical explorations in the future?

“I do consider it a new chapter, for sure,” agrees Gilbert. “And yes, the continental drift theory definitely applies. Especially musically. I feel like it’s a big step personally, even if it doesn’t seem so to other people. I would have never written a song like ‘Isabella’ or ‘Pangaea’ a year or so ago.

“A lot of the album deals with childhood and the simplicity and innocence of it before you branch out into the world. That’s probably the most central theme musically and lyrically.”

Gilbert was barely into his teens when he began turning out songs, and at age 22 is already a veteran of recording and touring. This is his third full album, with other recording projects in between.

The grueling travel and performance schedule he has maintained for years, up and down the East coast, prompted me to dub him “the hardest-working musician in North Carolina” during our conversation the last time he came to Salisbury. He accepted the title graciously, but without admitting that it is actually work, since it’s the only life he’s known.

But his name is so ubiquitous, and I see it on so many posters, flyers and email announcements, I wonder if there aren’t Dylan Gilbert clones, or if maybe he has figured out how to be in two places at once like Hermoine in the third Harry Potter book.

And I didn’t apply the “hardest-working” title based solely on his non-stop touring, but also because of the amount of energy he pours into every show, whether he’s playing for a packed house at Charlotte’s most recent Tosco Music Party, or when his is the last late night set after hours of other acts, and a small but enthusiastic group has stuck around to hear him.

This was the case last time he played in Salisbury. The show started 90 minutes later than advertised and there were delays between the first two acts. Gilbert was patient and uncomplaining even as fatigued concert-goers wandered away. When he was finally able to take the stage, Gilbert rewarded those who remained with his solid, original songs delivered with his customary panache.

“Pangaea” and his other albums don’t have the same over- the-top energy as his live performances, but instead allow listeners to focus on the musical craft and poetry.

For the latest album, Gilbert has assembled a talented group of musicians to assist. And Gilbert himself performs on a vast array of instruments and other noisemakers, in addition to providing enthusiastically dulcet vocals.

Going back to the continental “all lands” definition of the term “Pangaea,” Gilbert points out the many influences in the feel and structure of some of the songs.

“There’s bit of French and Italian music in “Isabella,” Latin rhythm in “What’s This All About?,” different time signatures, atonality and 12-tone figures in “A Trip To The Zoo,” and “Pangaea” and more straight forward country and folk patterns in “Baby Don’t Worry” and “The Last Thing You Thought About.”

There’s no denying the musical variety, from infectuous pop to psychedelia with folk in between, along with a battery of fun instruments that make the album sound like a party I’d like to be invited to. And I would probably leave the party singing “My Name is Arthur” or “I Wonder.”

Gilbert’s career appears set to heat up like magma and keep moving like convection currents (I’ve switched to similes instead of metaphors.)

“I have big plans for my next project to be very different. So yes, I feel like the drifting applies to a lot of what I’m doing right now,” says Gilbert.

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Much like Dylan Gilbert himself, “Pangaea” is everywhere. You can find it at Amazon, CD Baby, CD Universe, iTunes, and you can stream the whole album at spinner.com.

Find out more at www.dylangilbert.com.

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Contact Sarah Hall at shall@salisburypost.com.