Michael Coast

Michael Lesousky’s (Grassland String Band) debut solo record, Deep Shade of Blue, (due 8/20/16) is a collection of bittersweet narratives about small town isolation. Deep Shade of Blue was produced with Matt Tamisin at Japanski Studios. The album’s tracks were narrowed down by Lesousky and Tamisin as they crafted Deep Shade of Blue. Lesousky enjoyed working with with Tamisin, saying “he helped me sift through the volumes of songs and choose the right ones for the record.”

The songs on Deep Shade of Blue are spare and intimate—almost every cut is a solo recording with nothing that separating the listener from Lesousky’s poetry. Lesousky says these songs are “bare and minimal. They show you that I can stand alone as a singer and songwriter without any instrumentation, other than a guitar.”

Deep Shade of Blue begins with a count-in for his song “Bored Out of My Mind,”a song that combines Springsteen themes of alienation and with a sly Ryan Adams Heartbreaker-era delivery. Lesousky weaves a narrative about a character who is “sitting on the welfare line,” “recently divorced,” and addicted to methamphetamines.

The second track, “Locomotion,” opens with a Carl Perkins turnaround that downshifts into an unapologetic romp. It’s a joyous song about loss. The song is completed with Lesousky bellowing “we would ride down 14th avenue / like a streetlight coming on.”

Lesousky’s shines on “Don’t Walk Away,” on top of the saunter of an old school Blues arrangement with poignant lyrics about heartbreak. “You’re faster than a fox / running through the vines. / Sadder than a story / in The New York Times.” During the final chorus his vocal climbs one octave as he delivers acrobatic vocal lines.

At its heart, Deep Shade of Blue, is a record that pays homage to all types of American music. There’s the Old Time cover of Bill Browning’s “Dark Hollow,” the behind-the-beat Country waltz of “Back in The Bottle,” and the soulful title track. On “Deep Shade of Blue” Lesousky’s vocal throws a gut punch in the choruses. Still, you can hear why he describes “Deep Shade of Blue” as “a journey into hope and out of despair.”

The album’s closing track, “Hope & Desolation,” is a mid-tempo meditation that sounds like John Prine singing with Sufjan Stevens’ earnestness—“Here I am. / Take me where you want.” “Hope and Desolation” is symphonic compared to the barebones arrangement of rest of the album. Lesousky’s accompanied by the gentle warble of an upright piano, and the delicate harmonies of Athens songwriter Mamie Davis.

The resulting record is a treasure. Deep Shade of Blue is as soft and brilliant as a lamplight on the front porch of an Athens house party. Look for it on August 16, 2016 on his bandcamp (michaellesouskymusic.bandcamp.com,) or pick one up at a live show.

### - Ethan Fogus