Black Dirt Sessions, The

The music here is probably better than either the lyrics or the vocals, although both of those are very good at times. The sound is country, blues, rock, folk, but it’s also quite singular and distinctive. McCauley’s vocals tend to be rather monotonous but, at the same time, can also be quite alluring though his voice is a bit rough and raspy. No FCC’s.

*My Favorites*: 2, 6, 8.

1. (2:55) Mid. Mellow vocal delivery, nice fx on the mic, backing singers, country-ish finish.
2. *(3:44) Mid. Guitar, piano intro. Song about going back to his girlfriend. Catchy and well done.
3. (4:58) Slow. Piano and vocal. Dirge about losing a friend. Heavy and brooding.
4. (4:09) Mid. Singer-songwriter-ish with guitar, vocal and a bit of piano.
5. (4:34) Slow / Mid. Sad song about the ‘sad sun’. Lyrics stretched out, backing vocal.
6. *(5:16) Mid / Fast. Kinda funky, a kinda retro sound, cool bass and percussion. Spacey at times with some good jamming. Great piano solo with 1:55 remaining. The band is really tight on this song.
7. (3:53) Mid. Country number, has that ‘anthem song’ sound.
8. *(4:31) Mid. Lots of influences here: Beatles, Wilco, Van Morrison. Great music, cool vocal delivery and phrasing. Backing vocals.
9. (3:22) Slow / Mid. Spacey with an Eastern sounding guitar. Big sound yet a bit mellow.
10. (4:41) Slow. Bluesy. Lots of space, everything stretched out like a dream.
11. (4:33) Slow / Mid. Piano and vocal. Ethereal and ominous.