Jeff Dernlan

Jeff Dernlan’s latest album, Cobblestone, swells with the spirit of a warm summer night on a pitch black highway somewhere far from home on the lonely American landscape. It’s an album of intriguing ambiance and compelling detail, and yet taken as a whole, Cobblestone feels like a profound statement about the quest for simplicity. On “Save the Day,” Dernlan sings: “Hang a picture up across the plaster patch, make no mention and no one will ever ask, ride the rocking rails on home through the twilight, signals fail, stolen by the satellites.” Utilizing country, gospel, and folk themes, Cobblestone stretches traditional structure, embraces its heritage, and offers an atmospheric collection of richly crafted material. Songs like “Good Man,” “I Won’t Be Dismayed,” and “World of Sin” resonate like prayers in verse and poem, comforting in their sadness. Dernlan growls weary, but wise, on the album opener: “Twisted root taps the pain, stunted stalk, needed rain, harvest grain, summer grown, reap what you’ve sown, close to the bone.” Conversely, the rootsy gem, “Weathervane” shimmering with rich bottleneck guitar, is an inspired and uplifting ode to a lover: “You’re the blossom in my Spring time, In the Summer you’re my shade, When I feel that strong wind blow by, you’re my Weathervane.” Jeff Dernlan studied English Literature at Penn State University where he won The Edward Nichols Award for Best Short Fiction. After college he lived on a remote island in Alaska and worked as a commercial fisherman. He eventually moved to Nashville where he recorded Broadmoor, which reached number 3 on the Euro-Americana Chart and was honored by Rootstime Magazine as one of the best releases of 2006.