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Witmer has mastered the early ‘70s introspective, brooding singer/songwriter template, and from a musical and production standpoint, his earnest songs compare favorably with those of Browne and his confessional descendants. “From Here On Out” is an acoustic guitar- and piano-dominated ballad that could’ve been lifted from the Jackson Browne songbook circa For Everyman, while “Song of Songs” employs the hushed singing and lovely counterpoint vocals that often characterize Sufjan Stevens’ more folk-oriented compositions. Near the end of the album, the fragile music and pensive, finely realized lyrical details of “Chesapeake Watershed” combine for a perfect snapshot of rootlessness and ennui. — Jason Killingsworth