Dust Poets

World at Large is the fourth record by the irreverent chamber folk ensemble the Dust Poets. The new album further refines the band's trademark sound that borrows stylistically from folk, bluegrass, Tex-Mex, and alt-country, allowing the characters and stories in each song to wander across far flung realms of the musical spectrum. This willful rootlessness perhaps reflects the disparate personal journeys of the five members of the band, who...

This willful rootlessness perhaps reflects the disparate personal journeys of the five members of the band, who, when they began working together in Brandon MB eight years ago, didn't imagine they'd spend most of that time living in multiple time zones, with members moving to and from Arizona, Toronto, Winnipeg, New Brunswick, and Colorado. The Dust Poets have turned this wanderlust to their advantage however, continuing to find inspiration in each other's musical commitment and a keen determination to keep taking their songs out on the road.

The Poets have worked hard at their craft, and on World at Large it shows. Songwriter-in-chief Murray Evans has delivered another finely-wrought set of thoughtful, cheeky, and deeply personal tunes that tackle topics such as homelessness, pain, life on the road, and the pitfalls of an oil-crazed culture. The songs retain the exquisite arranging style of previous Dust Poets efforts and benefit from the diverse musical backgrounds of each member. Complex horn charts, searing instrumental solos, and delicately layered vocals highlight the group's study of nuance and attention to detail, but the songs are never over-controlled. Beneath the polish lies spontaneity and grit, and these tracks capture the sound of an honest band that has willingly paid its dues and still has plenty left to say.

The Dust Poets are songwriter Murray D. Evans (vocals, guitars) along with multi-instrumentalists Karla Ferguson (vocals, accordion, piano), Sean McManus (vocals, drums, winds), Gord Mowat (acoustic and electric bass), and Corey Ticknor (vocals, mandolin, brass). World at Large was produced by Lloyd Peterson and the Dust Poets and recorded by Lloyd Peterson at Wonder Dog Recording in Winnipeg, MB. The record was mixed by Grammy Award nominated engineer Shawn Pierce in Winnipeg, and mastered by Steve Fallone at Sterling Sound in New York, NY.