Adam James Sorensen - Dust Cloud Refrain (2018)

In Adam James Sorensen’s 2018 release, Dust Cloud Refrain, the Chicago native guides listeners through an intimately vivid landscape of reflective, textural imagery. Sorensen’s lyrics traverse both his own personal story, and that of the great folk singer songwriter, Woody Guthrie. As the narratives navigate through both lives, and touch down in locations such as Okemah, Williamsburg, New Orleans, Salt Lake City, Chicago and San Antone, producer Jamie Mefford (Gregory Alan Isakov, Nathaniel Rateliff) infuses each story with both a traditional warmth, and a current, ethereal edginess. Mefford skillfully captures and creates rich, vibrant sounds and colors that beautifully, and cohesively, frame Sorensen’s compelling tales.

Dust Cloud Refrain features a group of uniquely gifted musicians such as Brooklyn bass player Byron Isaacs (The Lumineers, Levon Helm), cellist Christopher Hoffman (Henry Threadgill, Tony Malaby), violinist Jeb Bows (Gregory Alan Isakov), Dutch multi-instrumentalist Jan van Bijnen (Point Quiet, Freek de Jonge) and Portland vocalist Michael Jodell (Pete Krebs, Fernando Viciconte). Each of their distinct skill sets and contributions help to sculpt and craft Sorensen’s stories into intimately lush, panoramic visions.