Gary Louris – Dark Country (Sham/Thirty Tigers)
Gary Louris has long been a master of weaving emotion into melody, and with Dark Country, he delivers an album both intimate and expansive, a reflection on love, time, and life’s unpredictable currents. This is an album of deep feeling, crafted with the patience of an artist who knows the best songs are lived as much as they are written.
Over three decades, Louris has built a creative legacy with The Jayhawks, a band that helped define alt-country. His songwriting—rich in harmony, melody, and understated poetry—has won acclaim and influenced generations. Beyond The Jayhawks, he was part of Golden Smog and collaborated with The Black Crowes, Lucinda Williams, and others, blending folk, rock, and country into something uniquely his own.
Louris’ solo career has been equally compelling. His debut, Vagabonds (2008), was a lush, full-bodied record produced by Chris Robinson of The Black Crowes, while Jump for Joy (2021), recorded alone during the pandemic, showcased his ability to craft deeply personal music. Now, with Dark Country, the focus is love—specifically, the love he shares with his wife, Stephanie. The album is an homage to deep connection and a meditation on life’s fleeting nature.
From the first track Getting Older, Louris sets the tone for an album steeped in reflection. “Cold stares from so-called friends made through a broken lens,” he sings over a melancholic alt-country arrangement, capturing the disillusionment of aging. The song’s introspective tone is matched in Better Walk Than to Run, which urges patience: “Though it’s not a race, we chase the sun.”
Love anchors Dark Country. By Your Side is one of its most touching moments, a slow-burning ballad where piano and harmonica frame enduring companionship. “Just me and you. This crooked river that will take us through our lives,” captures love’s unpredictability. Similarly, Couldn’t Live a Day Without You is a conversational ode to devotion, with the tender admission: “Forgive me when I fail ‘ya, I get crazy once in a while.”
As well as hushed confessions there are moments of defiance and adventure. Blow ‘Em Away pulses with youthful rebellion, its ringing guitars and layered harmonies capturing the desire for, and thrill of, escape. Two Birds crackles with similar intensity, its driving energy mirroring the rush of love at first sight: “Two feet and a heartbeat in a shabby coat, you blew into town and grabbed me by the throat.”
Digital disconnection is explored in Living on My Phone, a meditation on longing for genuine connection. “The hours they disappear, tell me have they been wasted,” he muses over light acoustic guitar strums. In contrast, Listening to Bobby Charles drifts into surreal territory, a laid-back folk-blues number filled with dreamlike imagery: “I feel like a drunken shark, smelling the blood and wondering why.”
There’s warmth and solace, too. Helping Hand offers quiet reassurance, with the line: “With love, the coldest heart will always melt.” And, Redefining Love blends folk and psychedelic sounds, as the lyrics reinforce love’s universal power: “I float above the astral plane, trips around the sun and then thoughts circle back to you.”
The album closes with Perfect Day, a gentle, hymn-like meditation on gratitude and peace which suggests we “Ride on the wings of the angels of love who are on our side.” The recognition that for all of life’s uncertainties, love remains the one true constant makes this a serene and fitting end of the album.
On Dark Country, memories and melodies intertwine, creating tender love songs and contemplative musings on time’s passage. The album is a welcome continuation of Louris’s masterful songwriting, distinctive voice, and ability to make every lyric and note linger long after the music stops. It’s album of depth and to be savoured.
Gary Louris has long been a master of weaving emotion into melody, and with Dark Country, he delivers an album both intimate and expansive, a reflection on love, time, and life’s unpredictable currents. This is an album of deep feeling, crafted with the patience of an artist who knows the best songs are lived as much as they are written.
Over three decades, Louris has built a creative legacy with The Jayhawks, a band that helped define alt-country. His songwriting—rich in harmony, melody, and understated poetry—has won acclaim and influenced generations. Beyond The Jayhawks, he was part of Golden Smog and collaborated with The Black Crowes, Lucinda Williams, and others, blending folk, rock, and country into something uniquely his own.
Louris’s solo career has been equally compelling. His debut, Vagabonds (2008), was a lush, full-bodied record produced by Chris Robinson of The Black Crowes, while Jump for Joy (2021), recorded alone during the pandemic, showcased his ability to craft deeply personal music. Now, with Dark Country, the focus is love—specifically, the love he shares with his wife, Stephanie. The album is an homage to deep connection and a meditation on life’s fleeting nature.
From the first track Getting Older, Louris sets the tone for an album steeped in reflection. “Cold stares from so-called friends made through a broken lens,” he sings over a melancholic alt-country arrangement, capturing the disillusionment of aging. The song’s introspective tone is matched in Better Walk Than to Run, which urges patience: “Though it’s not a race, we chase the sun.”
Love anchors Dark Country. By Your Side is one of its most touching moments, a slow-burning ballad where piano and harmonica frame enduring companionship. “Just me and you. This crooked river that will take us through our lives,” captures love’s unpredictability. Similarly, Couldn’t Live a Day Without You is a conversational ode to devotion, with the tender admission: “Forgive me when I fail ‘ya, I get crazy once in a while.”
As well as hushed confessions there are moments of defiance and adventure. Blow ‘Em Away pulses with youthful rebellion, its ringing guitars and layered harmonies capturing the desire for, and thrill of, escape. Two Birds crackles with similar intensity, its driving energy mirroring the rush of love at first sight: “Two feet and a heartbeat in a shabby coat, you blew into town and grabbed me by the throat.”
Digital disconnection is explored in Living on My Phone, a meditation on longing for genuine connection. “The hours they disappear, tell me have they been wasted,” he muses over light acoustic guitar strums. In contrast, Listening to Bobby Charles drifts into surreal territory, a laid-back folk-blues number filled with dreamlike imagery: “I feel like a drunken shark, smelling the blood and wondering why.”
There’s warmth and solace, too. Helping Hand offers quiet reassurance, with the line: “With love, the coldest heart will always melt.” And, Redefining Love blends folk and psychedelic sounds, as the lyrics reinforce love’s universal power: “I float above the astral plane, trips around the sun and then thoughts circle back to you.”
The album closes with Perfect Day, a gentle, hymn-like meditation on gratitude and peace which suggests we “Ride on the wings of the angels of love who are on our side.” The recognition that for all of life’s uncertainties, love remains the one true constant makes this a serene and fitting end of the album.
On Dark Country, memories and melodies intertwine, creating tender love songs and contemplative musings on time’s passage. The album is a welcome continuation of Louris’s masterful songwriting, distinctive voice, and ability to make every lyric and note linger long after the music stops. It’s album of depth and to be savoured.
John Bradbury
Gary Louris’ Dark Country is released February 14th on Sham/Thirty Tigers Records
