As journalist Martin Aston notes in his BBC Music review, "Wilson may be a new name to us but to the cognoscenti of America's alt-roots scene he's a mover and shaker.

[citation needed] The album's underlying theme has to do with the words of the title track, "Gentle Spirit", about the desensitization caused by daily exposure to mankind's despair.

"[6] In the review for The Guardian, Caroline Sullivan claimed that "Gentle Spirit engagingly takes up where the Graham Nashes and Joni Mitchells left off, with only the odd splash of electronics proving it was made this decade.

"[8] Concluding the review for NME, Rebecca Schiller stated that "As California Dreamin' goes, this is almost as good as heading for the hills, reaching for a hand-tooled native American bong and calling yourself Moon Unit.

[14] Throughout the course of his review, Uncut's James Mulvey states that, "Gentle Spirit illustrates a more prosaic act of creation, in which fastidious study is transformed into compelling new music.

"Desert Raven" "Canyon in the Rain" "Natural Rhapsody" "Ballad of the Pines" "The Way I Feel" "Don't Give Your Heart to a Rambler" "Woe is Me" "Waters Down" "Rolling Universe" "Magic Everywhere" "Valley of the Silver Moon"