Today, the Nashville-based, Texan-born sonic serenader Jarrod Dickenson releases his defiant roar of a record and his third studio effort ‘Big Talk’.
It’s steadfast statement of powerful independence against the domineering major label structure. The record will be released on vinyl on March 17. If Dickenson’s previous works have ventured a foot into the territory of rock and roll ‘Big Talk’ plants a large flag, representing his most direct and uncompromising body of songwriting to date. It’s classic like Petty, gritty like Waits. There are McCartney-esque melodies and the blues get thrown down with a certain Rolling Stones swagger.
‘Big Talk’ sounds for all the world like a man who has found his groove. This album represents Dickenson’s most direct and uncompromising body of songwriting to date and his decision to occupy the producer’s chair has injected the album with a drive and coherence that compliments the muscle of its material.
So what happened in the years since the release of Dickenson’s soulful sophomore long-player ‘Ready the Horses’ to have turned this honey-voiced southern gentleman into a brawler? After a major label deal-gone-bad threatened to choke off his career, Covid complications left him with a life-long medical condition. The Trump era also sought to eviscerate the notion that America might still be that shining city on a hill.
Dickenson would have certainly been forgiven for retreating to his Nashville home to lick wounds and maybe write a collection of introspective self-pity anthems. Instead, the hardships and infuriation of recent years have only added steel to the resolve of an artist already willing to do it the hard way. He’s prepared to stand in the face of a music business that shows dwindling regard for the brand of artistry that first inspired him to pick up a guitar and sing for his life.
For ‘Big Talk’ Dickenson assembled a band of ferocious players to bring these songs to life with striking authenticity in a series of live sessions recorded to tape. From the swamp-rocking “Long Hard Look”, to the soulful introspection of “Prefer To Lose” and the banger “With Any Luck”, the album brims with spirit, pride and pathos.
Supported by the talents of Jano Rix (The Wood Brothers) on drums and keys, Ted Pecchio (Doyle Bramhall II, Tedeschi Trucks Band) on bass, JP Ruggieri on guitars, and Claire Dickenson on backing vocals. Oliver Wood of The Wood Brothers makes a guest appearance, singing on “Home Again,” and Ethan Johns (Producer – Ray LaMontagne, Ryan Adams, Laura Marling, Kings of Leon) wrote the string arrangement for the closing torch song, “Goodnight.” Together, these artists create that unmistakable sound that only comes from the assembly of great players, in a room, having a blast.
Dickenson will be bringing this album to life on UK stage in March:
UK TOUR DATES
March 23 – Brighton, UK – Tickets Here
March 24 – Norwich, UK – Tickets Here
March 25 – London, UK – Tickets Here
March 27 – Shrewsbury, UK – Tickets Here
March 28 – Liverpool, UK – Tickets Here
March 29 – Newcastle, UK – Tickets Here
March 30 – Glasgow, UK – Tickets Here
March 31 – Belfast, UK – Tickets Here
