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Music Review - 'The Dance at Dawn' Nick Justice (dm)
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Nick Justice - The Dance At Dawn
9 Aug 2019
A classic description of country music is that it is nothing more than “three chords and the truth.” “The Dance at Dawn,” singer/songwriter Nick Justice’s latest record, does not fall into the country genre, but it exercises the same formula to facilitate an intimate connection with the listener. Justice’s Americana and contemporary folk songs hit the heart like emotive testimonies of a full life fraught with the highs and lows of love and loss.
The ten song collection is undoubtedly lyric-driven, and Justice has the literary acuity to excel as a troubadour, but they are also sophisticated in their establishment and maintenance of a melancholic mood. Despite the limited accompaniment of Justice’s voice and guitar – there is only one song with drums – the arrangements and melodies are effective in their ability to communicate in an emotional language, while Justice demonstrates his intellectual prowess with thoughtful and clever words.
“The Dance at Dawn” and “It Takes Two” – among the record’s early standout songs – are beautiful and effectual presentations of love, intimacy, and the joys and agonies that can accompany both. The upbeat material, such as “She’s My Lover” and “Dancin’ Shoes,” showcase Justice’s sense of humor without compromising on the emotional intensity of his lyrical focus.
Nick Justice’s record, “The Dance at Dawn,” commandeers space for music that is intelligent and invested in the substance, not the trivialities, of the human experience.
David Masciotra (www.davidmasciotra.com) is the author of four books, including Barack Obama: Invisible Man (Eyewear Publishing, 2017) and Mellencamp: American Troubadour (University Press of Kentucky, 2015).
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