Andrew Duhon
False River
(Self-released)
Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
Relationship status? It’s complicated.
That’s probably on Andrew Duhon’s personal Facebook profile, at least based on the concept of this, his third solo studio release. It’s a song cycle of sorts, examining, often in painful and intimate detail, how his internal struggles with love, relationships and commitment caused him to end a serious romantic liaison, something he seemingly hasn’t come to terms with.
Nothing new here? Heard it all before? Perhaps, but singer-songwriter Duhon, whose Grammy-nominated 2013 offering The Moorings (Best Engineered Non-Classical category), presents these conflicting psychological musings in songs that resonate with a moody, even magical groove inspired by his New Orleans surroundings. It’s there in his husky, baritone voice that wraps around lyrics, both caressing and cajoling the listener’s ears into his pensive, provocative songs. “Can’t rewind the hands of time and time after time I am reminded/ Of all I thought I left behind me,” he reflects on the bittersweet opening “Coming Around.” Not all songs relate to his broken relationship, with “Go It Alone” referencing artists unafraid to follow their own path.
Like them, Duhon writes twisty melodies that hover and float above a muscular, yet often skeletal, three-piece backing band. Both “No Man’s Land” and “Let You Down” incorporate strains of blues and jazz phrasings as Duhon tries to navigate and reconcile leaving a loved one because it’s best for their future, even if that’s not obvious at the time to either participant.
The closing “Easy Ways” references two of this album’s three backing musicians that have toured with Duhon for the past four years, and the synergy between them here is palpable. They push him outside traditional singer-songwriter musical territory, similar at times to John Martyn’s unorthodox approach.
Just when you think no one needs another somber, reflective breakup album, Andrew Duhon refutes that notion. With talent, creativity and a vibe that’s as hypnotic as it is hummable, False River feels fresh, innovative, and complicated in all the right ways.