Wendy Eisenberg brought a calm, grounded presence to Chelsea Studios, as their three-piece band, featuring more eaze’s Mari Rubio on pedal steel and Ryan Sawyer on drums, delivered three songs from Eisenberg’s profound new album. When asked about genre, Eisenberg described their music as something expansive, almost nomadic, untethered to any one place or time. That idea feels central to the performance of “Meaning Business”: a sound that resists boundaries and remains in motion, open.
Eisenberg and their band turned part of their Paste Session performance into a medley, conjuring dynamic passages of songs folding into each other. As the opening notes of “Another Lifetime Floats Away” begin, the song settles into a minimal, dreamlike atmosphere. It feels less like something to follow and more like something to inhabit, inviting reflection rather than direction. The piece gently transitions into the twangy, improvisational “Will You Dare,” not only a central moment within the sequence, but a song that confirms Eisenberg as a guitar great. “Will You Dare” turns toward time, how it gradually exposes who we are. Eisenberg reflects on what we choose to do with what we’re given, suggesting that life doesn’t unfold gently, but instead pulls, complicates, and reveals.
The band closed with “The Walls,” described by Eisenberg as a kind of manifesto, a culmination of their artistic voice. The song reflects on the emotional structures we build to protect ourselves, and what it means to let them fall. In performance, this comes through with clarity: it is raw, vulnerable, and deeply human. Eisenberg’s performance feels less like a sequence of songs and more like a quiet unfolding, something lived in rather than simply observed. Eisenberg, Rubio, and Sawyer create a space where uncertainty, vulnerability, and change are not only accepted but embraced. Their music lingers, reminding us that art, like time, is never fixed. It moves, it reveals, and, if we allow it, stays with us long after the final note fades.
Huge thanks from the Paste team to everyone from Chelsea Studios NYC who helped make such a great session possible. Keep your eyes peeled for more Paste Sessions. Read our recent feature with Wendy Eisenberg here, and read our review of Wendy Eisenberg here.