Lonesome Traveler
Brooklyn, NY
(Self-released)
“Flawless collection of life experience, love letters and heartbreak”
Lonesome Traveler is the sophomore studio effort from bluesy, gritty, folky singer/songwriter Jarrod Dickenson. A Brooklyn-based musician with roots in Texas, Dickenson sounds like a collection of life experiences, love letters, and heartbreak. His voice is earthy, smooth and much more soulful than anything you would expect from someone so young.
Accompanying his vocals are a cacophony of instruments that aid, but never overpower, his lyrics and melody. With songs that express the excitement and heartbreak of young love, like his tracks “Rosalie” and “Little Black Dress,” stories of war on “Bravery (A Bottle of Gin)” and finding yourself in spite of the skeletons in your closet on the track “Ballad of a Lonesome Traveler.”
Like any good folksy/bluesy singer/songwriter, Dickenson has mastered the art of illustrating a setting with just a few lines. On the title track, Dickenson sings, “Hands grip the wheel / With bare knuckles white / Eyes fixed ahead on that winding center stripe.” Or on “I Remember June,” when he reminisces about a warm summer night with the lady of his affection, he paints a calming, beautiful picture for listeners to empathize with his emotions.
The whole album reads like hand-written letters from the plains of the Midwest, out on a ranch somewhere, the sun setting in the background, with Ma and Pa rocking in chairs on the front porch. Dickenson doesn’t disappoint, and has certainly encapsulated the sound of all-American bluesy-folk rock with this masterpiece.
Produced by Jarrod Dickenson & Ryan Freeland
Recorded, Mixed & mastered by Ryan Freeland
www.jarroddickenson.com