Allen Dobb – Alone Together
Allen Dobb has a new album newly released via Skipping Stone Music this week, Alone Together. Drawing from his experience as a range management specialist working deep in the mountainous interior of the province of British Columbia, Canada, Allen’s resulting songs are sonic and commanding. Co-creating the album with his brother Cameron Dobb as a partner on the project also produced a level of authenticity that simply can’t be duplicated in more formal settings. But this is not a raw gritty recorded-around-the-campfire effect, it’s big, spacious, and sings its truths to the heavens.
“All Costs” begins the album’s journey with thoughtful strong acoustic guitar, and “what you see is more than the weather, it’s more than today, the sun engraved deep lines in my face. Thought I might last forever, in fact you took it on good faith, now it seems you’re coming up short changed.” Allen’s vocals are baritone and the harmonies are sweet.
“Point of Pines” contains the great line “as long as the wind blows we’re not alone.” That’s some truth right there. ‘Trapeze” ought to be an example in the dictionary for what good production should be. The vocals draw you in, with lots of clarity and individual instrumental focus and a “Your mind’s running through the choices you make… and I’m there to catch you on the last trapeze.”
“Black and White” is a shuffle beat and, somehow, sounds like Jason Isbell‘s “Alabama Pines,” although not exactly, but is an equally pretty song. “Our world was never black and white.” The title track continues the quality songsmanship and it’s pensive and thoughtful, and replete with natural references, hawks, and a highway out of town.
This album is thoughtful, disarming, and eminently listenable from start to finish, with songs that are heart searching and touching, strong and vibrant and easy to listen to, every single one of them. A pro production.
Musicians on the album are Allen Dobb on lead vocal, acoustic guitars, mandolin, 5-string banjo, autoharp, and background vocals; Cameron Dobb on drums, whistle effect, upright and electric bass, bass-6, piano, organ, organ pedals, lap steel, archtop acoustic slide, electric and acoustic guitar, vibes, Mellotron, strings, percussion, bowed archtop guitar, acoustic slide guitar, Wurlitzer, Rhodes, glockenspiel, accordion, 6-string banjo, accordion, background vocals, strings, and string arrangements; Katrina Kadoski on vocals and background vocals; Vivienne Dobb on background vocals; Rae Gallimore on background vocals;
Find more details and information on his website here: https://www.allendobb.com
Alone Together was produced and mixed by Cameron Dobb and mastered by Andrew Downton of Railtown Mastering. acoustic and electric guitars, fiddle, mandolin, lap steel, piano