Dusty Wright - Lonelyville (2022)

Dusty Wright has a hand in a truly wide range of multi-media interests. He’s a songwriter, singer, producer, magazine editor (Creem Magazine)m has his own interview show, and making a documentary about the famous Roswell Alien incident. So with his hands in so many media pies, how does his latest album fare? Well not too bad – you just have to get used to two things – one, the material covers many styles and, being honest, some of these styles don’t necessarily suit his somewhat limited vocal stylings. The other is Dusty’s idiosyncratic vocal delivery. Strong opener and album highlight ‘Lonelyville’ makes quite an impact with a strong psychedelic guitar riff pounding out a simplistic melody and some quite chaotic instrumentation – which many of the songs feature.

Next up is ‘Unbearable Brightness’ which has an acoustic and electric sound and is enhanced by Norwegian singer Cecilie Anna’s spooky vocals. ‘Riptide Of Love‘ has an arresting mix of gothic surf and The Cramps more poppier sounds. There’s a slight tendency to over-egg the lyrics through repetition here and on some other songs, but that doesn’t negate the effect of the tunes. Later there’s an fascinating mix of bubblegum pop and sixties Lemon Pipers style sounds in ‘Stare Into The Sun‘ with some fine guitar playing.

So this is certainly an interesting album with a wide range of styles and influences from 60’s crossover country to 80’s REM style indie, but to these ears the whole didn’t quite work as well as it might of. Think it boils down to a slightly schizophrenic feel and Wright’s vocals bringing all the work and energy he’s obviously put into this album, feel a little underwhelming.