Laurelyn Dossett – How Many Moons
I’ve always felt the most gifted singers are the ones blessed with unique voices filled with the individual’s personality, expressiveness, & charm. Alison Krauss, Joni Mitchell, Stevie Nicks, Iris De Ment, Janis Joplin, Dolly Parton & Emmylou Harris, among others, have this quality. You can hear it when you say to yourself, “I never heard anyone sing like that before.” That’s the blessing, the magic & pulse, of an original. Laurelyn Dossett has this.
After decades of songwriting, the North Carolina artist has an alchemy not only in her voice but in her songwriting. And surprisingly, after all these years, How Many Moons (Drops Aug. 28/Sycamore Road/42:44) is her debut. Artists like Levon Helm & Rhianna Giddens have covered Ms. Dossett’s tunes. This showcase features 12 originals beginning with “The Vision & the Call” & “Anna Lee” (which features banjo & harmony by Grammy-winning Rhianna Giddens).
Produced by MC Taylor (acoustic & electric guitars/mandolin/harmonica/percussion/harmony) & recorded in Durham, NC. Laurelyn has a pleasant narrative voice in the realm of Laura Nyro at times but manages to belt like a rock singer with range when necessary. All with a smooth execution. “How Many Moons” is an upbeat rootsy tune that gets feet twisting on the plywood floor & fingers tapping on the tablecloth. Good accompaniment fortifies the simple tune with sawing fiddles, snappy drums, bellowing bass & acoustics that are breezy. The backup singers linger in haunting shadows & provide the necessary dulcet voices. Quite good.
Unfamiliar? Laurelyn (vocals/guitar) shares the quality of Mary Chapin-Carpenter, Carrie Newcomer, Kathleen Edwards, Emmylou Harris & Dar Williams. “The River’s Lament” is a bit darker with lyrics in a sophisticated narrative that carries a Southern gothic delicacy. The playing’s soft with atmospheric overtones; nothing’s thin.
With “The Mark of Kith & Kin,” the traditionalism reminds me of Canada’s McGarrigle Sisters. “Run To the River” has the warmth through the woodwinds that the duo Mark-Almond furnished in many of their calm, wispy, moody, jazz-oriented tunes. It’s an ambitious number that takes sudden turns in melody & beat. Sung with near-Dolly Parton juvenile potency, “Tomorrow Won’t Remember” is a powerful ballad, one of the best in the showcase. I like her. An impressive debut by this “newcomer.”
Highlights – “The Vision & the Call,” “Anna Lee,” “How Many Moons,” “The River’s Lament,” “The Mark of Kith & Kin,” “Run To the River,” “The Year of the Perfect Garden,” “Tomorrow Won’t Remember,” & “You & the Moon.”
Musicians – Jason Sypher (bass), Nicholas Falk (drums), Riley Baugus (banjo), Stephanie Coleman & Omar Ruiz-Lopez (fiddles), Matt Douglas (woodwinds), DaShawn Hickman (pedal steel), Sam Fribush (piano/Hammond B3), Charly Lowry, Bet Williams, Sophia Catanoso, Karl Sickenberger (harmony) with the Glory Glory Chorus (“Glory, Glory”).
Color image by Matthew Chenet. CD @ Bandcamp & https://www.laurelyndossett.com/