Dodd Ferrelle "Lonely Parades" (Two Sheds, 2009)

Recession rock

Dodd Ferrelle's face looms out at you on the cover of 'Lonely Parades' looking for all the world like a cross between Elvis Costello and a beardy Ringo Starr. Then once the music starts the Springsteen-sounding telecaster sound leaves you thinking you should be listening to this in a blue-collar bar surrounded by Ford plant workers nursing beers.

But look a little closer at the cover and you notice Ferrelle is superimposed over an empty city street, his fingers in his ears. Listen a little closer to the songs which deal with themes of loneliness, isolation and confusion. Then you remember that a quarter of a million Americans are losing their jobs every month, unemployment rates are nudging ten percent, and that the guys sat in the bar nursing their drinks have been doing so all day.

Ferrelle has produced a record that captures a familiar American rock sound yet manages to convey the mood of the times. His guitar playing is admirable, his talent obvious and as distinctive as his voice, a guttural tenor that sounds best when singing phrases such as “I hear Gullah My Anna sings Hallelujah”. Ferrelle even adds Glockenspiel to several of the tracks and the addition of a musical saw on 'Life's a Dream' adds another dimension of dislocation to Ferrelle's lyrics.

There's not a lot of variety to the tunes and it may be a little too contemplative to raise Ferrelle's profile, but it is well worth saving the pennies for.

Date review added:  Sunday, August 16, 2009
Reviewer:  David Harry
Reviewers Rating:
Related web link:  Dodd Ferrelle's Home Page