Tom Dyer Stands On His Own

I always endeavour to seek out the odd and the inspired in the musical realm. True characters who stand on their own and are unafraid to be themselves. In that tradition of individualism comes Seattle singer/songwriter Tom Dyer, a blues/rock/crossover artist who has been loosely compared to Tom Waits, although it may be due to a lack of proper descripters for the man's music. His new album "I Ain't Blue Anymore" shows a complete lack of self-consciousness, for the most part to it's credit. Dyer's voice is low and gruff, sometimes manic, and musically, dissonance can be found on every track, so this is definitely not coffee shop tunes, but who wants that? Dyer cooks up a musical gumbo that owes it's inspiration to everything from rockabilly and punk to blues and industrial. He also plays all the instruments here.

My personal highlight of the release would be "John the Revelator" for it's possessed energy, and "The Ballad of Carlton IV", "Smithsonian Institute Blues" (a Captain Beefheart cover), and "Walking in the Sky" fall into the "must listen" category. If you're looking for a smart release with plenty of storytelling and quirky wisdom, chack out the aptly titled "I Ain't Blue Anymore".