Dolfish details vivid stories over retro-leaning soundscapes. Whether he veers more toward folk, country, or ’70s singer-songwriter vibes, the one thing that melds his latest full-length effort Foreclosure American Dreams together is the way he weaves evocative tales through the different aesthetics. He regales with stories of how easily the “American Dream” is deferred or destroyed altogether, and average folks are left to somehow clear a path to keeping going through the ruins.

The opener/title track sets the melancholy yet hopeful tone over pretty keys and ringing guitar: “Two dogs and two children, a little boy and a girl/ An out-of-work husband, it’s him against the world/ Mother’s so nervous, sleet roof that leaks/An overdue mortgage, back taxes and meets…you gave us your whole life for your foreclosure American dream.” From there he continues to burrow into the ways we get through the day while hoping for a better tomorrow through the country-leaning “Wake Up (Or Live Life Alone),” the sparse folk flutter of “Funeral,” and the bounce and churn of “Collinwood” (which is a great title by the way). The album ends, fittingly, on the beach, “Euclid Beach” to be exact, highlighting the hope that the light at the end of the tunnel is as bright as it seem at the beginning of the journey when you are actually close enough to bathe in it. Listen.

Tour dates:

08/19 Cleveland, OH @ Praxis Fiber Arts
08/20 Columbus, OH @ Kafe Kerouac
08/25 Ferndale, MI @ Loving Touch
08/27 Chicago, IL @ Cafe Mustache
10/8 Newark, OH @ Thirty One West Ballroom w/ Sean Rowe

Foreclosure American Dreams is out 8/16. Pre-order it here.