“STEM fields matter. Building bridges, curing cancer, developing AI—bring it on. But ‘Abacus’ comes out of a frustration with what we lose when quantity and measurement crowd out everything else.
The humanities are supposed to help us preserve some of the mystery of life. We can measure and calculate endlessly—but can we explain why any of it matters? Can we think seriously about love, loss, beauty, or joy? Humanities departments are housed in buildings with leaky roofs; giant sums get poured into AI data centers. ‘Abacus’ sticks up for quality in an age obsessed with quantity.
But also, it’s just a stupid rock song.”
RIYL: Hurray For The Riff Raff, Neko Case, Lucinda Williams, The Nude Party, Belly, Tobacco City, Fleetwood Mac, Veruca Salt, Margo Price, Dusty Springfield, Jesse Wells
Hold The Spark (out May 1 via Propeller Sound Recordings). It's a literary album of American character studies—from the Southeast and the heartland, to the forgotten lands of Oklahoma/Arkansas border cotton fields. Hold the Spark jumps between twangy country-rock, acoustic folk, ‘90s alt-rock and ‘60s psychedelic folk-rock. It can go from upbeat to very sad, to peppy, to angry, and occasionally it is very funny. It’s an album for folks who care about quality songwriting and intricate lyrics. It’s an album of high-standard rock n’ roll with a bit of country twang. It will particularly speak to empty-nesters who are coming to terms with this next phase of their lives. It’s for anyone with a job who’s had to suffer through inane meetings or terrible decisions by management.
Hold the Spark, undoubtedly Dore’s strongest offering yet, features an all-star cast of Americana greats, including her husband Will Rigby (Steve Earle & the Dukes, The dB’s), Jason Wilber (John Prine), Chris Masterson (The Wallflowers, Steve Earle & the Dukes), Mitch Easter (R.E.M., The Baseball Project, Alex Chilton, Wilco, Drive-By Truckers), Libby Rodenbough (Mipso), Robert Sledge (Ben Folds Five), Kelly Pratt (Father John Misty), Eleanor Whitmore (Elvis Costello, Steve Earle & the Dukes), her sister Bonnie Whitmore (Hayes Carll, John Moreland) and more. Produced by Don Dixon (R.E.M.), mixed by Paul Voran (Bon Iver, Nathaniel Rateliff, Waxahachie), and mastered by Tim Smiley (Waxahatchee, MJ Lenderman, Nathaniel Rateliff and The Night Sweets, The Head And The Heart).
May. 7: Carrboro, NC @ Cat's Cradle
May. 8: South Richmond, VA @ Chilton House
May. 9: Montclair, NJ @ Bandwidth Inn
May. 10: North Adams, MA @ Sing for Your Slumber, Solo show
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