Dori Freeman – Ten Thousand Roses
Dori Freeman continues a prolific streak of album releases with Ten Thousand Roses, out tomorrow on her own boutique label Blue Hens Music. Her past albums have proved her abilities as a songwriter and singer to convey raw emotion and conjure evocative and lush imagery in perfectly polished, succinct songs that never overstay their welcome and sound somehow classic yet completely fresh. Ten Thousand Roses exemplifies this blend perhaps more than any other, involving more mainstream tones yet firmly rooted in tradition.
Dori’s latest is sweeping and cinematic, with larger-sounding production, reverberating drums, and electric guitar. Written while stuck at home in 2020, the album features an array of local musicians and musician Nicholas Falk, also Dori’s husband, in the producer’s seat. It’s her most pop-sounding turn yet- but that’s a good thing – and she does not leave her background in trad stylings and Appalachian sounds behind.
The opening track, “Can’t Get You Out of My Mind” is excellent intro-credits potential, displaying Dori’s perfected pop sensibility while gorgeous mandolin trilling rolls in. “The Storm” showcases Dori’s tremendous vocal range. It’s possibly her most non-folk-sounding song ever, and one of her best, with empowering lyrics encouraging strength and resilience in the face of domestic tumult.
“I Am” challenges norms of traditional femininity, while the duet “Walk Away,” with Logan Ledger shows off the magic created when Dori blends her gifts with another artist’s, creating something heartbreaking and classic-sounding. “I Wanted To” is straight out of an old Western remake, with a rollicking, galloping riff, complete with castanets.
“Appalachian” is a real standout on the album, particularly for folks who may be concerned that Dori’s straying from her traditional, fresh folk sound. The song reaffirms her pride in her roots, while acknowledging and embracing the flaws inherent to the unique political position of the region, and the often dismissive lens outsiders may view it through.
Dori embraces tradition, challenges it, experiments with it, and absolutely reinvents it as her own. As she grows as an artist, she continues to explore more wide-ranging themes, acknowledging that with all traditions, there are parts to celebrate, parts to discard, and just as she continues to stay true to herself by raising her family in her hometown of Galax, Virginia, she acknowledges that the best way to make change is from within.
Dori has long been a master of writing perfectly endearing, catchy-as-hell, pocket-sized songs. With Ten Thousand Roses, the “bigger” feel means a record full of songs ready to be sung along with at the top of your lungs.
Get Ten Thousand Roses on Bandcamp, out tomorrow!
