The hills of the Commonwealth shine in the songs of Ben Sollee and Daniel Martin Moore. Both men are truly gifted musicians and folk singers hailing from Kentucky. Ben Sollee is an exceptional cellist and songwriter with musical lineage harking back to an inclusion playing alongside Abigail Washburn and Bela Fleck in the Sparrow Quartet. Daniel Martin Moore is a folk songwriter on SubPop with a blessed, tranquil drawl that marries his full-blooded, but delicate playing that comes across as easy reassurance in his songs.

Dear Companion is an exceptionally gorgeous and lush collection of aching, earnest songs bridging the gaps between man and man, man and woman, and notably, man and land. Kentucky colors these songs not only like an instrument, but like a founding bandmate along with Sollee, Moore and fellow Kentuckian, My Morning Jacket frontman and Dear Companion producer, Yim Yames. Each man’s God-given voice, gentle hands and Appalachian heart contribute to the simple, undeniable verve in each of the songs intimately performed in this collection. Although these are songs intentionally strolling at a pace outside the confines of bustling 21st Century America, they are genuine American songs, complete with dirt on their hands, aches in their young hearts and a yearning to simply be good. It’s unlikely “Dear Companion”, “It Won’t Be Long”, “My Wealth Comes to Me”, “Needn’t Say a Thing”, or “Something, Somewhere, Sometime” will find their way on to mainstream airwaves or slip through the speakers of any capacity crowd arenas. These are folk/bluegrass/gospel songs more suited for back porches, campfires and covered bridges. Ben Sollee and Daniel Martin Moore have given us the sort of songs that have seen generations come and go, that have seen old loves die and new loves blessing us with reasons to want to live again. On “Something, Somewhere, Sometime”, Sollee and Moore harmonize and offer up in one earnest, penitent voice:

If you see me coming I’ll probably pass you by on my way to something, somewhere, sometime…And if I’ve wounded you, I’m sorry. I had good intentions…it happens all the time

Like most everything else they write and sing, these are the words of timeless, everyday life. They are steeped in our love, our faults and our aspirations. They are us as we are, and they are us striving to be better.

Recorded and Mixed at The Pop Machine by Eric and Marc Johnson
Filmed and Edited by Doug Fellegy, Jeff DuPont and Dodge
Described by Justin Wesley

MP3 Downloads
Ben Sollee and Daniel Martin Moore - It Won't Be Long
Ben Sollee and Daniel Martin Moore - My Wealth Comes To Me