Johnny Delaware /US/

Johnny Delaware isn’t worried that he’ll die. He’s worried that he might not live. “Death is one of the best teachers we have,” he reflects. “It reminds you why you’re here, how fleeting this all is and what a waste it would be to sleepwalk through it. You only get one chance to be who you’re meant to be.” In that sense, Delaware’s captivating new album, On God’s Time, isn’t so much a meditation on mortality as an embrace of our ephemerality. Produced by Delaware and recorded between his adopted hometowns of Mexico City and Charleston, SC, the collection looks to death as a means of putting life itself into focus, as a lens through which to understand the meaning and purpose of our dwindling days on this planet. The songs here are firmly rooted in the spiritual realm of the cosmic drifter, full of larger-than-life characters navigating their way through a world of tragic beauty and infinite wonder, and the performances are loose and raw to match, guided by instinct and tracked live and in the moment. Taken as a whole, it’s a moving snapshot of a songwriter discovering what matters most, a timeless, dreamy exploration of love and loss and gratitude and regret rooted in the promise that our impermanence isn’t a curse, but rather a gift.