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On June 12 Yep Roc Records will release John Doe's much anticipated A Year in the Wilderness, the follow-up to 2005's acclaimed Forever Hasn't Happened Yet, of which Rolling Stone said, "John Doe proves again that this punk legend/journeyman actor can still make great music."
Produced by long time collaborator Dave Way and John Doe in Los Angeles at The Way Station, the album opens with the haunting sound of a church organ in the 20 second piano vignette "The Wilderness," then launches into the gritty "Hotel Ghost," setting a darker tone than his previous solo efforts. Doe laments, "Recording in winter always hits you right in the guts, `cause it usually rains and makes you want to close down and pull inside." Yet like all of Doe's work, Wilderness continues to explore the artistic and emotional common ground between punk rock and American roots music with its simple yet powerful-and in this case animalistic-themes of love, loss, destruction and redemption.
In typical John Doe fashion A Year in the Wilderness' 12 tracks feature an array of guest appearances including players he has worked with in the past-guitarist Dave Alvin, bassist Dave Carpenter and Jamie Muhoberac on piano and organ-as well as first time collaborators such as Kathleen Edwards who sings on three tracks, "A Little More Time," "Lean Out Yr Window," and the stand out single, "The Golden State." The album also features singers Aimee Mann and Jill Sobule, guitarist Dan Auerbach (The Black Keys) and acclaimed pedal steel player Greg Leisz.
John Doe is a founding member of the seminal LA punk rock outfit X and the country spin-off band The Knitters. Doe's solo career began with 1990 album Meet John Doe, and he has since garnered worldwide acclaim. Entertainment Weekly calls his work, "rip-roarin' and warm-hearted," Q deems it "the tightest, finest and most morally acute music of the last 20 years," and The Boston Globe praises its "striking emotional territory..."
Critical Praise for "Dim Stars, Bright Sky"
"Emotional and Elegant..."
- Vanity Fair
"A beautiful revelation..."
- Portland Oregonian
"With a weary voice and a dogged sense of empathy, he wraps trouble in earnest melody."
- The New York Times
"Like an aged fine wine, Dim Stars is complex and intoxicating."
- Interview
"The songs evoke a surprising emotional range, made all the more powerful by Doe's compassion."
- The Illinois Entertainer
"Dim Stars, Bright Sky is a collection of 11 songs...highlighted by catchy melodies, textured accompaniment...and intimate, poetic sketches..."
- Acoustic Guitar
"An understated gem."
- Stereotype