ATOW – “Chasing the Chimera” by Del Water Gap

November 13th, 2025 by Ellie Walsh

Album Review By: Mia Ciccarelle ’29

ATOW: “Chasing The Chimera” by Del Water Gap

Released: November 7th, 2025

Rating: 7/10

RIYL: Dominick Fike, ROLE MODEL

Review: Del Water Gap is the stage name of Samuel Holden Jaffe. The Connecticut born singer, songwriter, and producer currently resides in Brooklyn, NY, where he moved in 2012 to attend the Clive Davis Institute of Recorded Music at NYU’s Tisch. In 2021, Jaffe released his debut self-titled album, “Del Water Gap”. Following the release of his album, Jaffe embarked on his first world tour. Since then, he has now released four more albums, with “Chasing the Chimera” being the most recent. He plans to tour with this album, beginning in January of 2026. In September of 2025, Jaffe released the track, “Marigolds” in preparation for his album’s release. “Marigolds”, as well as all of his other songs, are accompanied by a visualizer video on YouTube. These often are calming visuals or videos of the Jaffe in scenic places. They are not quite music videos but are very interesting videos that help create the natural tone of the album. Jaffe claims to speak inspiration from “romantic encounters and dimly lit rooms”. His music strongly encapsulates his emotions and illustrates relaxing scenery.

The album, “Chasing The Chimera”, beautifully captures Jaffe’s deepest emotions. His lyricism is uniquely his own and helps the listener envision what he is singing about. Jaffe writes about different personal struggles in his life, and internal dilemmas. This album is a great listen, and perfect to put in the background when studying, or to walk around campus. Although his lyrics are on the sadder side, the songs themselves have a very upbeat backing that creates a relaxing aura. For example, the track, “Please Follow”, has gorgeous acoustics and is perfect to listen to while studying. All of the songs on the album have a particular vibe that draws you to listen. I recommend listening to the album on YouTube, so you can watch along with his visualizers. It assists in showing the unique tone of the album and makes you feel more connected to the music itself.