The Quiet Triumph of You Win Some, You’re Lonesome

I recently started yet another list — this one dedicated to the finest vocal performances. Like so many of my lists, it remains charmingly unfinished. The first three entries set the tone: Cobra’s “Travellin’ Man,” Ryan Adams’ version of Taylor Swift’s “All You Had To Do Was Stay,” and Wanderlust’s “Blow Away.” Voices that don’t just carry melodies, but emotion, urgency, and character.

There’s also a very different kind of list: the songs I sing the loudest with my youngest son on the way to yet another birdwatching adventure. Current top three? Great Buildings’ “Hold On To Something,” Feel’s “Got Your Name On It,” and Player’s “Baby Come Back.” These are full-volume, windows-down moments — joy measured in decibels.

If you know that Scot Sax fronted both Wanderlust and Feel, you’ll understand why he’s something of a hero in the Donders household.

New lists will soon emerge featuring songs from the recently released You Win Some, You’re Lonesome. But they’ll belong to a different category altogether — the quieter lists. The reflective ones. The late-night, self-searching kind. This is not an album built for exuberant singalongs. It invites you to listen closely.

Sax recorded it with a small circle of neighbors and friends, the Floor Models, each given the space to gently shape the songs without disturbing their modest core. The arrangements breathe. Nothing is forced. The result is intimate, sincere, and beautifully layered.

If you need coordinates, think more Wings than The Beatles — though even that only sketches the outline. Better to step inside this world yourself and let it reveal its own quiet truths.