14 July 2019
On The Dance at Dawn, California-based singer-songwriter Nick Justice steps away from his raucous cowpunk and blues pasts in favor of acoustic accompaniment. By going unplugged, the veteran singer lets his lyrics take center-stage for one of his most revealing releases to date.
For the most part, Justice wears his influences on his sleeve. The nasal delivery of the quaint love songs “It Takes Two” and “Find My Way Back Home” sound like Tom Petty covering Bob Dylan, while the quirky lyrics of “She’s My Lover” and “Put on Your Dancing Shoes” could’ve come from the mind of Americana godfather John Prine. All three artists were easy to discover and admire long before the internet made the music world tiny, but only so many singers and guitar pickers replicate their storytelling chops and vocal stylings this successfully through original compositions.
Not every song can be summed up by name-dropping a rock or folk tastemaker. For example, the slow-burner “Remember Me” hangs a sharp left at the Crossroads without sounding like any obvious blues-rocker. Album closer “Sometimes It Falls on Me” features just the singer and his guitar and resembles something you’d catch on any given night at Nashville’s Bluebird Café or some other hotspot for country singer-songwriters.
Regardless of influence or accompaniment, Justice does a folk troubadour’s duty throughout the album by speaking for common people with past-honoring stories that reflect their experiences, fears and triumphs.
