Over the course of his career, William Fitzsimmons has made his living writing a specific brand of honest and inward-looking folk songs that fearlessly and candidly examine the evolving self while dexterously communicating his talent for robust melodies and catchy instrumentation. That the subject matter tends to dwell on the darker parts of human existence and relationships is no coincidence.Relocating to the small town of Jacksonville, Illinois, Fitzsimmons continued writing in response to those major life events. While Mission Bell had served as a more visceral, gut reaction to the preliminary breakup and also included a sense of hope for the relationship’s future, new songs like “Dancing on the Sun,” “Down with Another One,” and “You Let Me Down” began to lend a heavier tone to the new work, representing a more complete and total response to the finality of it all. To the songwriter, there is some sadness in the album, as well as anger, betrayal, indignation, and frustration, but there is also plenty of resignation and peace—qualities he identifies as among his favorites in any piece of music. “To Love Forever,” which ends the record, exemplifies that sense of resigned complacency by identifying a love that has run its course. And the seven-minute long “Daedalus, My Father” is a cyclical, confessional exercise with only a single chord change to lend it a sense of slow acceleration, but by its end the song reaches a moment of clarity that echoes in both the singer and the listener’s minds. The balance achieved in the process suggests that the singer has reached that ideal flying height Daedalus wanted Icarus to follow for a proper escape—somewhere in between the sun and the surf, not too high yet not too low.