Reviews
Record reviews for Lovesick Town:
Toronto Star
Brandon, Man. folk-rock quintet Dust Poets - for reasons that remain obscure they had to dump their former moniker, Das Macht Show!, on which they had built a substantial reputation as live performers and recording artists - start out anew with a collection of lively, funny, wise and sentimental songs that approach the rambunctious spirit and pop harmony style of such 1960s jug- and blues-based folk acts as New York's The Lovin' Spoonful and Toronto's The Dirty Shames.
Inventive instrumentalists able to effectively combine electric and acoustic instruments, and ingenious songwriters and arrangers, Dust Poets have a little masterpiece on their hands "Dance With Ourselves," "Borrowing Faith," "Hillbilly Love" and the title track provide abundant evidence.
topUptown Magazine
"Out on the edge of town - everything's on the edge of town..." So observes Murray D. Evans, the poet laureate of this Brandon group formerly known as Das Macht Show! He's ostensibly talking about the box-store phenomenon, and much of this clever, wonderfully musical album is like its opening couplet - full of wry, pithy and wholly observant comments on modern life.
Evans' talent has long been evident, but Lovesick Town feels like the culmination of all the right elements - impeccable songwriting, tremendous musicianship and a fully realized sound that touches on numerous styles. There's rootsy pop/rock (Good Enough for Me), aching country (Lonesome, a wonderfully stirring ballad from Karla Ferguson that stirs thoughts of Patsy Cline), brassy jazz pop (Dance With Ourselves) and even a take on accordion-fuelled Tex-Mex (the title track).
Though the group members are now spread across the country, it's obvious that all five remember their roots at the 100th meridian and that the heart of the country is far more urbane than many may realize.
topWinnipeg Free Press
For its first album since losing their Das Macht Show! moniker this quintet proves it has a keen ability to craft a worthy set of listenable tunes that touch on roots, folk, jazz, pop and Tex-Mex.
Leader Murray Evans wears his heavy heart on his sleeve, especially on easy country-tinged weepers like Good Enough For Me and the lazy Borrowing Faith. Toss in the goofy I Married A Magician by accordionist Karla Ferguson and some tight musicianship and you've got a set that will please fans immensely and make a whole lot of new ones.
topBrandon Sun
With lush harmonies, plenty of interesting layers and melodies that make you feel right at home, the Dust Poets - formerly known as das macht Show! - have produced one fabulous new disc. Lovesick Town is the Brandon-formed band's third studio effort and is a collection of 11 songs that address issues related to the places where we live and the anxiety of being in a small town/big city - whichever applies.
A master songwriter, Murray D. Evans has flexed his impressive creative muscle once again, successfully blending loads of stylistic elements - a little country slide guitar, a jazzy upright bass line, some folky accordion and harmonica and catchy pop hooks. Instead of sounding Like a dog's breakfast, this album convincingly flows from one song to the next. It is the musicians' sense of humour, their individual performance styles and their collective sound which make this album work. Along with guitar duties, Evans also lends his voice to eight of the cuts. For the remainder, Karla Ferguson takes over the lead vocals, giving those cuts a vintage, earnest sound.
My favourite is Dance With Ourselves, with its beautifully played trombone licks and its rockappella harmonies. Other notable moments on the disc include Gord Mowat's walking bass in the Patsy-Clinesque Lonesome and his solo bit in Borrowing Faith, Sean McManus' smooth sax in Music Box and his klezmer-like clarinet interjections in I Married a Magician, and Corey Ticknor's fiesta trumpet accents in Hillbilly Love. Fortunately, absent is the over-produced slickness plaguing the majority of current recordings. In its stead is a fluid transparency, a clarity that can be easily translated to the stage. top
Lethbridge Herald
Engaging, absolutely engaging. The Dust Poets, which recently played the Tongue 'N Groove, is a band which takes roots music in a new direction. The five far-flung members of the Dust Poets live in Manitoba, Toronto and New Brunswick but still manage to make beautiful music together.
The Poets go beyond the traditional instrumentation of roots music, adding clarinet, saxophone and trombone to the mix. The lovechild of Brandon's Murray D. Evans, who sings lead vocals, plays various instruments and writes the music, the Dust Poets have a real pulse on Canadiana roots music.
Lovesick Town's 11 tracks incorporate different styles eloquently. Evans is a brilliant writer and his band of Corey Ticknor, Gord Mowat, Sean McManus and Karla Ferguson are exceptional musicians.
In their own words, the Poets "poke affectionate fun at themselves and the world around them while spreading their own irreverent brand of small-town angst." They do it incredibly well.
topAmericana UK online magazine
With two previous albums under their collective belts as Das Macht Show, the newly monikered Dust Poets, armed with a strong collection of material by Murray Evans have, in Lovesick Town, delivered an album that traverses a number of styles - country, folk, bluegrass, jazz & even music hall, but with a cohesion and vision that shows they are comfortable in themselves, not struggling to find a 'sound' as albums like this often can.
The twin attack lead vocals of Evans and Karla Ferguson add to the variety and throughout the tight, focused harmony give a pop gloss to the songs. 'I Married a Magician' is an hilarious rag- time that best showcases the strength of the writing on offer here, which is odd given that a number of the tracks ('Music Box', 'Change it All') seem to lament Evans perceived short fallings as a writer.
Dust Poets have, contrary to their name, shown themselves to be fine purveyors of polished country- folk- pop.
topPop Matters
"I'm so sick of this town / But I really love this town", sings Dust Poets' Murray D. Evans over an irresistibly jaunty shuffle beat on the title track to Lovesick Town. If you can appreciate the simple brilliance of that sentiment, you'll probably enjoy the small-town charms of the album. The smart lyrics are complemented by a warm combination of country, folk, jazz, and circus music: Think a less strange latter-day Tom Waits, or a more strange Fairground Attraction. ...
The combination of craft and palpable honesty makes Lovesick Town one of the year's best surprises.
topHere Magazine
Although the band members are currently spread throughout a few different provinces in Canada, the Dust Poets were actually formed in Manitoba approximately five years ago. With Lovesick Town, they have created a rich tapestry of songs, touching on genres like bluegrass, folk and traditional country music.
The feeling on the record is lighthearted throughout, most evident on a track like I Married a Magician; listeners however shouldn't confuse this with the band trying to be humourous as it is not the case at all. Good Enough for Me is an easygoing bluegrass track, a song that could have easily come from the bluegrass supergroup Rice, Rice, Hillman and Pedersen; Lonesome is a Patsy Cline-worthy ballad ably sung by the Poets' Karla Ferguson while the album opener Walk Away is one of the most straight forward pop-country oriented tracks on the record.
Lovesick Town is a fun, outgoing and musically diverse album that has zero trouble helping set itself and the Dust Poets apart in today's musical landscape.
topWinnipeg Sun
FILE UNDER: Pulling up roots. SUBSTANCE: Ashes to ashes, Das to Dust. Brandon's Das Macht Show are now Dust Poets. But on Lovesick Town, Murray Evans and co. haven't changed their eclectic approach, blending everything from alt-country and bluegrass to piano-pop and jazz into a charming [and] satisfying musical concoction. STANDOUTS: The lazy bounce of Walk Away; the torch 'n' twang of Lonesome; the Cajun-flavoured title cut; the Waitsian gypsy jazz of I Married a Magician.
topSoul Shine
Oh how Canadian to be folk inspired pop (or pop inspired folk) that happens to be quirky and eclectic much like the "stuff" in your grandmother's attic. Dust poets, formed in 2001 in Brandon, Manitoba, has the quaint charm of the prairies and the presence of dust blowing in the wind ... the strong musicianship and quintessential playful lyrics of Lovesick town make a decisive impact ...
The influences are wide ranging from blues, folk, country, and jazzy interludes. Dust Poets rounds out the eclectism with creative interpretations done on mandolin, accordian, clarinet, and horns. Perhaps the mandolin might be reason enough to get the album, I mean, how often are you going to hear a country song with mandolin? Probably not often enough.
The vocals are melodically sound replete with four part harmonies and not a note out of tune. Lovesick town is a throwback to the earnest songwriting of an era when talent meant something. The album is a solid effort by musicians who have sharpened their teeth on experience but lacks the element of spontaneity that pushes music from good to great.
topThe Manitoban
The latest CD from the Dust Poets, Lovesick Town, is a blend of pop, folk, jazz, roots and swing and is teeming with songs about love. One moment you're listening to a mandolin-heavy tune with four-part harmonies. The next moment you're listening to drum brushes, scatting and leisurely saxophone.
The contrasts also lie within the lyrics, as main songwriter and singer Murray D. Evans writes phrases that are simultaneously romantic and hilarious. Take the upbeat, accordion-infused "Lovesick Town," with its arresting phrase, "I love you as far as I can spit/ and every little drip." It's hard to know whether one should cry or laugh or do both.
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