When the Maverick Festival Canadian artist preview was
published in April, it was admitted that little was known about Dennis
Ellsworth. Well this has now been corrected as his new album has hit the UK in
advance of his mid-summer visit. DUSK DREAMS is the third solo recording from
Dennis who hails from Prince Edward Island on Canada’s Atlantic coast and it is
an excellent release that will have no problem finding its niche in the UK
country, roots and Americana music market.
With ten tracks carefully put together by acclaimed producer
David Barbe in his Athens, Georgia studio, DUSK DREAMS captures the versatility
of Dennis’s ability to master a range of sounds. The album eases through a
combination of seamless gear changes to take you on an implicit journey of
imagery, emotion and soul searching in a style that encompasses a lot of country,
a hint of rock and a touch of lounge jazz blues. With the evocative sound of
Matt Stoessel’s pedal steel echoing across the bulk of the tracks, the feeling
to kick back and chill is prevalent.
With bell weather progression, the album treads tenderly
through its opening numbers including the satisfying appetiser ‘Clear of Mind’ and a classic rock/pop
feel to the piano driven vibes generated by ‘Electric Stars’. This is unsurprising considering the producer’s
link to REM and the natural Athens, Georgia indie sound. Soon the pedal steel
kicks in via ‘Perfect Storm’ a
metaphorical take on the turbulence of love, and the sentimental harmonies that
seep through the tender longing exuded in ‘Apple
of My Eye’.
After savouring the relaxing tone emanating from the lounge
jazz blues title track ‘Dusk Dreams’ which
soothes your senses, the album reaches its peak with a brace of standout songs
that succeed in blending the finest country rock with some cracking pop
melodies. ‘Park Royal’ is a road song
in the true tradition of the genre while ‘I
Don’t Want to Worry You’ probably shades it as the high point of the record
with its piano stomping beat and killer pedal steel.
The final three tracks bring you down gently with a more mellow
sound accompanying the sad departure song ‘Hard
to Leave’, the gorgeous ‘Sleepin’
Easy’ and the melancholic ‘Messed Up
Kind of Way’. The latter brings the album to a close with the question we all
ponder from time to time – ‘Please tell me where I will find the land of
sunshine?’ We would like to know the answer to that but in the meantime
listening to DUSK DREAMS by Dennis Ellsworth isn’t a bad way to while away the
time.