Toad the Wet Sprocket front man Glen Phillips dives into the joys and sorrows of everyday life with help from Dave Depper (Death Cab For Cutie), Ji Tanzer (Blue Cranes) and John Morgan Askew.

“I’ve seldom allowed myself to stay in one place for very long,” Glen Phillips says, explaining the genesis of his new album, There Is So Much Here. “I was lucky during the COVID lockdown to move in with my girlfriend, now fianceé, and to stay home for the longest stretch I’ve had since the birth of my daughter, 20 years ago. After a life of travel and seeking out peak experiences, I began to appreciate the subtle beauty of sitting still.”

The 11 tracks on Phillips’ new album are informed by the time that the pandemic shut down allowed for reflection, moving between quiet love songs and rockers that consider the multi-faceted meanings hidden in our everyday lives. “Stone Throat” is a jazzy, midtempo rocker that looks at a couple in a new relationship, trying to find the balance between desire and responsibility, or as Phillips sings, “trying to find the balance, between the sacred and the street.” There’s a hint of new wave ska in the rhythm of “I Was a Riot,” a song that casts a compassionate eye on the end of a relationship.