Southern Star
Color Red, 2021
8/10
The Seattle artist Alex Dunn returns with a sophomore album, where his past lives in Colorado, Wyoming and Alaska tint his song craft with a reflective tone that brings along Bryant Moore (bass, keys, guitar, vocals), Cameron Peace (guitar, vocals), Sam Esecson (drums, percussion) and Kian Dye (fiddle, mandolin).
“Finally” starts the listen with Dunn’s smooth, expressive vocals alongside warm acoustic guitar in the poetic opener, and this gracefulness continues to the rich and intimate “Southern Star”, as well as the timeless folky melodies of “Ain’t Quite Sure”.
In the middle, “Sorry You’re Sick” gets a bit rugged with Esecson’s tumbling drums and Peace’s well timed electric guitar, while “Linden Street” gets a bit dreamy with its soft, agile approach to eloquent storytelling.
Nearing the end, “Wrong Kind Of Blue” recruits a spirited version of Americana in its lush and thoughtful delivery that benefits much from Dye’s mandolin, and “Toil And Trouble” exits the listen with a hint of the blues in Dunn’s stirring singer-songwriter formula.
Dunn steers into more roots/electric territory here than his previous work, though his folk and Americana roots are still firmly intact, and it makes for a very cozy and engaging listen.
Travels well with: Terry Klein- Tex; Matt North- Bullies In The Backyard