Shane Tutmarc has grown leaps and bounds since Dolour's first album appeared back in the Spring of 2001. By the time Tutmarc had released his third album (2004’s self-produced, New Old Friends) KEXP Program Director, John Richards named Shane Tutmarc “one of the best songwriters in Seattle, let alone the rest of the music world.” Now Dolour is set to release their new album (the band’s fourth) on Quince Records on June 19th 2007. Recorded in Seattle, with Tutmarc driving a room full of crack musicians through two live-in-studio sessions. After the initial sessions, Tutmarc took the recordings home to further tinker with vocal over-dubs, and musical flourishes - three years later we have Dolour’s new album, The Years in the Wilderness.
The ambitious 19-song set is split up into two parts: the bombastic, occasionally dark, rock of Storm & Stress and the lighter, but moody, jazz-pop of Hell or Highwater. “I wanted a unifying title for these fraternal twins, and The Years in The Wilderness seemed to capture both the exploration of the music, and also the journey it took me on over these last 3 years working on it,” songwriter/producer Shane Tutmarc explains.
This album is a real departure from Dolour’s previous albums, New Old Friends (2004) and Suburbiac (2002), which were very manicured, production-heavy albums. Shane looked to the past to find a new way to record, “I was very inspired by how Miles Davis recorded his records, especially Bitches Brew, letting the songs come together live-in-the studio. So I just got my favorite musicians together and we hashed it out over two very full sessions.”
Storm & Stress combines the grandeur of Led Zeppelin's more ambitious tracks with the pop-noise of the Pixies and Nirvana. Hell or Highwater showcases Tutmarc’s love for old American traditional songwriting, with nods to gospel, country, Americana, and Tin Pan Alley. With themes of love, spiritual yearning, and self-doubt, there is a warmth and depth to this music that is beyond Tutmarc’s years. Ken Stringfellow (The Posies) calls Hell or Highwater “a brilliant indie rock update on “Pet Sounds.”
The album features many Seattle luminaries: Philip A Peterson (Kay Kay and his Weathered Underground, Tennis Pro), Paul Mumaw (Jeremy Enigk, Damien Jurado), Josh Ottum (preparing his first solo record for Mill Pond Records), Charlie Larson (The Kindness Kind), Eric Howk (The Lashes) and Jason Holstrom, Jon E Rock, and Noah Weaver (from U.S.E. and Wonderful). Shane’s final words on the album, “I am very proud of this album. From beginning to end the album takes you on a journey. And I hope it will be an enjoyable journey for the listener.”
