I fell hard for “Dreamin’” from Skinny Dyck’s 2020 debut album Get To Know Lonesome, and in turn came to love the whole album, one I described a few months back as “torch and twang is so earnest it hurts — in the best way possible.” the only benefit of discovering an artist’s work well after its initial release is that you’re not waiting as long for new work. So I was pumped to learn that there is a new EP coming soon from Mr. Dyck. The Palace Waiting EP arrives in September, but the Lethbridge, Alberta-based singer/songwriter is now gracing us with two of its tracks, released as a 7” single on blue vinyl.
“In On The Upswing” and “TV Blue” have all the hallmarks of classic country without getting caught up in the argument about what constitutes “real country.” “I was once a full-on traditional country obsessive type,” he admits in a recent press release, “but my taste has expanded in recent years… My thing requires keeping one foot in country music as well as one foot outside.” Dyck’s signature pedal steel features prominently on the spritely “In On The Upswing,” a song that sounds like it could have come right off of mid-twentieth-century AM radio. “TV Blue” boasts a nostalgic-sounding timpani flourish and production that reminds me of classic Scott Walker. Dyck’s lilt is unassuming and straightforward, but he sings his witty observational (and sometimes very candid) lyrics with such conviction that you can’t help but be won over by his charms.
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