Amerikinda: 20 Years Of Dualtone
Dualtone, 2021
9/10
Listen to Amerikinda: 20 Years Of Dualtone
The Dualtone label is celebrating two decades of fantastic music with this compilation of some of the best on their roster- past and present- and in a very charming theme the artists cover each other’s songs.
Wild Child starts the listen with the gentle, acoustic guitar fueled “My Favorite Picture Of You” (Guy Clark), where expressive, soft vocals guide the timeless folk opener, and Mt. Joy’s “Ain’t No Reason” follows with a raw yet melodic display of poetic, acoustic songwriting in the Brett Dennen original.
Further on, the always impressive The Lumineers offer us the bare and eloquent “Caves”, where dual gender vocals interact with much beauty as they tip their hat to Gregory Alan Isakov, while Langhorne Slim covers a Lumineers tune as his inimitable brand of grit and warmth that does “Stubborn Love” justice. Drew Holcomb, a personal favorite, then brings Elle Holcomb with for a pretty, fluid acoustic rocker that has the pair harmonizing superbly on “Keep On The Sunny Side”, a June Carter Cash tune.
Near to the end, Shovels & Rope deliver a Shakey Graves cover (who is also present on the album), where elegant keys and much soul enter the emotive climate of “Dearly Departed”, and Radney Foster’s “Riding With Private Malone” bounces with a country spirit that’s got plenty of smooth singing as he goes back to 2001 for the David Ball song.
Few independent labels will exist as long as Dualtone and even fewer will be home to so much great music. From household names like June Carter Cash to relatively obscure but no less talented bands like The Lone Bellow, if you happen to be unfamiliar with the label’s releases, this is an excellent starting point if you’re at all interested in folk, Americana and indie-rock.
Travels well with: Drew Holcomb & The Neighbors- Good Light; Shakey Graves- Can’t Wake Up