Hope’s Eternal
Angel Dust, 2023
9/10
A duo consisting of Daniel Murphy (Soul Asylum, Golden Smog) and the prolific solo artist Jeff Arundel, as The Scarlet Goodbye the pair bring much different backgrounds to a distinct rock’n’roll listen.
“Rosary” begins the listen with warm, swirling guitars amid Ben Peterson’s crisp drums, as the smooth vocals populate the gentle modern rock tune, and “Panic & Blame” follows with Kenny Wilson’s glowing pedal steel that complements the dreamy climate of intimate beauty.
In the middle, “Charity” uses well timed keys and plenty of atmosphere for the poetic, stirring landscape, while “Firefly” enters timeless Americana areas of soulful songwriting and moments of grit, too.
Close to the end, Husker Du’s “Celebrated Summer” is a stripped back interpretation that’s acoustic guitar focused and a bit hazy, and “Minor Things” exits with a very personal and organic finish to a highly thoughtful 12 songs.
Additionally, Patrick Nelson (bass), Michael W. Nelson (percussion, keyboards), Pat Frederick (violin, piano, vocals), John Fields (shaker) and Jeff Victor (keyboards) are in attendance, and it sure does help make for a fantastic debut from a band that we’ll all be hearing a lot more of, soon.
Travels well with: Kevin Bowe- Half Past Never; Dan Israel- Seriously