Dust and Hours
Seattle, WA
Produced and mixed by Robb Benson // Recorded in the Shelk project studio, Seattle, WA // Mastered by Nate Yaccino, Robert Lang Studios, Shoreline, WA
Prolific musician Robb Benson may have launched his new band The Glass Notes in a Seattle pub, but his project with poet Jake Uitti could never be called a bar band. On their soulful debut Dust and Hours, the two offer up a lyrically and vocally driven mix of indie pop, acoustic folk and alt-rock tinged with bits of country and Motown soul.
After 13 albums over 12 years with bands Dept. of Energy, Dear John Letters and Nevada Bachelors, Benson’s songwriting is well honed, and Uitti’s poems supply a strong catalyst for Benson’s impassioned vocals.
This is most evident on standout songs “Glass Notes,” which finds Benson singing his heart out a la Jeff Buckley, the upbeat “Thunderous,” where guitarist Benson, bassist Uitti and drummer Perry Morgan revive the best of ’90s radio alt-rock, and on the powerful ballad “Something Left,” when Benson’s emotional delivery recalls John Lennon: “It doesn’t matter / cute faces and cold disgraces / something left / as we, the world, cry to the made-up beauty.”
It’s a striking mix; Uitti and Benson make a great team, with the poems steering Benson’s singing toward an emotional climax. Be ready to be touched. (Roam Records)