Categories : Folk + Roots, Music Reviews, Rock + Pop.
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Rating: 4 / 5 Reviewer: Kevin Hartford |
Dear Companion is a folk album that sounds like a country album, and it wouldn’t be difficult to imagine Kentucky-based singer-songwriters Ben Sollee and Daniel Martin Moore as the opening band for alt-country acts like Ryan Adams or Jenny Lewis in her Watson Twins days. There are parts of Companion where the Nashville influence is obvious: ‘Something, Somewhere, Sometime’ is an energetic, foot-tapping opener that features banjos and barbershop harmonizing, and a Loretta Lynn vocal wouldn’t be out of place on ‘My Wealth Comes To Me.’ The title track could double as getaway music.
Then there’s the rest of the album – full of contemplative lyrics over acoustic guitars, accompanied by Sollee’s emotive cello – that places Companion rather squarely in the folk genre. It embraces it’s simplicity a little too much at times – ‘Needn’t Say A Thing’ borders on repetitiveness, and the verses of ‘Only A Song’ drift almost uncomfortably close to Jack Johnson territory before being reigned in by a soulful chorus. The best tracks are reserved for the album’s second half – ‘Flyrock Blues’ is a knockout, followed closely by ‘Try,’ ‘Flyrock #2,’ and ‘Sweet Marie,’ the ending of which is absolutely stunning.
The record is short – about 36 minutes long – but Sollee and Moore accomplish a lot in a little amount of time. The songs are catchy and the production is top notch. This is excellent work.
