Hailing from the intersection of blue collar and academia that is Bellingham, Washington, singer-songwriter Kasey Anderson exists in the growing space occupied by rock and rollers who discovered their parent's Johnny Cash records and suddenly the wide, dusty road of alt-country was all the more appealing.

Of course, that wide, dusty road is getting more and more confusingly marked; pretty soon the term "alt-country" may be as nebulous as "emo" or "indie." For a more accurate indicator of Anderson's sound, one needs not look much further than the backlog of Steve Earle's material, or some of the Rolling Stones' rootsier moments.

Nonetheless, there's a delicacy to the songwriting and arrangements that makes this disc perfect for reflective moments. The majority of the album is a slow walk down midnight streets, nursing a whisky hangover. Opening with "This Old Town" and closing with "Emaline," Anderson knows how to draw out the inherent pathos of broken relationships and run-down surroundings.

The mood is lightened by a couple of rockers (see the Rolling Stones influence) "5th Avenue Queen" and the title track, which helps keep any singer songwriter from drowning in their own soup.

While Anderson is still developing his own voice -- his influences loom a bit large sometimes - he executes his songs with a confidence and skill that belies the fact that this is only his second full-length. Dead Roses is a remarkably solid album from a singer/songwriter we can only hope to see more from in the future. - (8/10) (0) Comments