Dispatches: Songs From A World Gone Mad
Self-Released, 2025
9/10
Listen to Dispatches: Songs From A World Gone Mad
The always impressive multi-instrumentalist, Mark Rubin, brings his voice and guitar to these songs that poured out of him after some serious tragedies in his life, and it makes for folk music that is entirely his own.
“Dog Whistle” starts with Rubin’s animated voice and playful guitar playing that’s got some frisky Americana ideas present, and “Blues For The Innocent” follows with an indeed bluesy spirit that enlists plenty of soul, too.
Closer to the middle, Dylan Blackthorn’s accordion makes an appearance on the soaring “Staying Put”, while “Bear At The Door” is a lively moment of quick guitar playing and strategic accordion.
On the back half, the bluegrass influenced “Wild Bill Jones” is a bit chunkier and uses detailed storytelling via a more raw climate, and “The World Is A Wheel” exits with Matt Smith’s pipes and Blackthorn’s moody accordion complementing the tense finish.
Even though some of the songs are light, even upbeat in their delivery, Rubin submits this body of work as ‘an act of defiance to Trump and other with evil plans’, and it serves as a protest record that’s diverse and sincere in its rebellious vision.
Travels well with: Mark Rubin, Jew Of Oklahoma- The Triumph Of Assimilation; Hot Buttered Rum- Lonesome Panoramic