Review Summary: Excellent songwriting, a great singing voice, and a great knack for a good melody.
Somewhere, where it might not seems so obvious, an artist catches the eye, or in this case the ear of an audience. It is in most cases an artist that should be recognized everywhere, but her/his music just clicked somewhere first. Such is the case of Dan Tuffy, Australian -singer/songwriter who is making a splash, along with back home, in The Netherlands. Listening to Letters of Gold, his latest album, you need to ask a question - why not elsewhere?
You see, Duffy is one of those artists that more or less has it all - an excellent voice, somewhat akin to his renowned countryman Nick Cave, a great knack for a melody, an essential requirement for any singer/songwriter, and quite a way around the guitar strings.
But Letters of Gold also shows that Tuffy doesn’t shy away from bringing in elements that don’t essentially seem to belong in his style of darkish roots music - electronic embellishments (here courtesy of producer Zlaya Loud), something he now shares with Grandaddy’s Jason Lytle. As Tuffy puts it himself, “what's vital to me about this album is our success at welding electronic and organic sounds together in a way that supports the songs/themes you hear.“ And he certainly proves the point.
But throughout the album, Tuffy remains true to roots/Americana music - his bread and butter, and like on “Eternity,” or “Time Stole My Angel,” he excels at it. The key there being is that Tuffy really can wield out a great tune.
Whatever the reason Tuffy is not made a name among a wider range roots music fans so far, Letters of Gold are good enough proof that he certainly should.
