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Reviews
Dustin Kensrue - Please Come Home (Equal Vision Records, 2007)
"I wanted these songs at their core to work in that street-corner sense; just a guy with his guitar a voice and a story to tell."
That's Dustin Kensrue talking about his debut solo album Please Come Home. Most people know Kensrue as the voice of post-hardcore act Thrice, but now Kensrue has stepped away from full-fledged rock songs for a bit in order to try out an alt-country acoustic act. Kensrue's new act is completely different from Thrice and might surprise the common Thrice fan.
Kensrue's vocals on a lot of the tracks and especially on "Blood & Wine" and "I Knew You Before" are very reminiscent of Johnny Cash. Other influences include Bob Dylan, Bruce Springsteen and the more current artist, Damien Rice.
"With only eight songs, it's a little bit of an old-school record," says Kensrue, "But it's like the old LPs I love; a lot of them only had like eight, maybe nine songs. I like shorter records, I feel like you really get a sense of the whole feeling of the record, and you can kind of grasp it all in one gulp. Advances in technology have allowed for a longer recording, and as a result, people like to try and fill that space. And I don't think it's always necessary. Music shouldn't be about quantity. I'm excited about it being shorter. It feels very complete to me."
When Kensrue started writing songs that didn't fit under the Thrice umbrella, Kensrue and Thrice guitarist Teppei Teranishi decided to release the tracks after getting off tour with Thrice. Kensrue and Teranishi, who co-produced the album, were joined in the studio by friend and guitar tech, Chris Jones. Jones played drums, slide and electric guitar, while Teranishi played the organ and piano parts. Kensrue took care of acoustic guitar and bass.
Please Come Home's old alt-country feel, with hints of folk and blues, makes it an album I would recommend to Johnny Cash, Bob Dylan, acoustic folk rock and die hard "Thrice can do no wrong, Dustin Kensrue is amazing" fans. It's a great album and I highly recommend it for those times when you want something completely kick back.
Sean Salomon
Chapman Radio (www.chapmanradio.com)