The new Dusty Wright record blends elements of folk, country, and alt-rock fairly successfully. Can Anyone Hear Me?, out now, is a progression of the singer's earlier material, and a sharpening of focus. With elements here that seem well-suited to our current horrible reality, it's also a sharply-observed album.
If "Rain, Rain", like many tracks here, finds Wright sounding like Grant-Lee Phillips, "New Year Bliss" offers up some Byrds-inspired hooks to add to that. "Broken Birds" reminded me a tiny bit of mid-period Jayhawks while the more ruminative "Book of Tears" and "Makes No Sense" are more distinctive. Dusty Wright always reminds me of Bruce Cockburn for some reason, and while there's no really obvious reason for that, I think it's something about the directness of the delivery, and the urgent humanism in the singer's entire approach.
Can Anyone Here Me? benefits from the work of drummer Bobby Bird Burke, bassist Kevin Mackall, lead guitarist Jonathan K. Bendis, and vocalist Caitlin Bement. With the help of engineer Dan Cardinal (Josh Ritter), Wright here manages a tone that's both intimate and big. The title cut, for example, has a slight World Party vibe about it, while "When She Comes Back" offers up a lush hook that should appeal to anyone who's followed Americana the last few decades. This is a consistent record, and likely Wright's best so far.
Can Anyone Hear Me? is out now.
More details on DustyWright.com.
[Photo: Michael Weintrob]