Search - Dustin Kensrue :: Please Come Home (Dig)

The ever-surprising Dustin Kensrue.

The Wickerman | Austin, TX | 01/25/2007

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Thrice frontman Dustin Kensrue has a seemingly limitless supply of tricks up his sleeve. If you thought "Vheissu" was a curve ball, wait till you hear this! With "Please Come Home", Dustin has once again done something really different, and really great. Eschewing practically all of his past musical trademarks in favor of a stripped-down, acoustic folk rock album, he still sounds far from out of his element. Even the vocals here are completely different. You could probably listen to this album 100 times, and it would still never cross your mind that it was made by the guy from Thrice, if you didn't know better.



At 29 minutes, the album goes by disappointingly fast, but then, this album could probably never be long enough. Witness the country-rock opener, "I Knew You Before", the harmonica-laden ballad "Pistol", the short but sweet "Blood and Wine", which I swear is practically a dead ringer for Johnny Cash (it's so convincing, in fact, that I at first thought it might even be a cover). And, last but not least, the absolutely jaw-dropping title track, with its touching lyrics and STELLAR vocal performance, makes for a definite high point for me.



This album just could not have been a more pleasant surprise. As much as I'm looking forward to the new Thrice material coming up this year, this has really raised the bar. And, as a bonus, Teppei Teranishi even contributes some piano here and there. So, that's twice the Thrice (heh). Anyway, bad puns aside, this is highly recommended. Not all Thrice fans may care for this, but if you keep an open mind, you'll definitely want to pick it up."

Wow...

ChuckMoses | 01/25/2007

(5 out of 5 stars)

"This is a awesome album. Too be fair and honest though, this is not really my style of music at all. But, I'm a huge Thrice fan and a big Dustin Kensrue fan. I think he is a amazing artist. I've seen Thrice twice, and a solo show of Dustin's once and he sounds fantastic live. The acoustic stuff he did really shows off his voice and the range that he has. This album only shows that even more so. This album truly shows how much talent Dustin has. This is so far removed from Thrice its not even funny. If you listened to this album not knowing any better, it would be hard to imagine that Dustin is the lead vocals on a hardcore band. It sounds completely different, and truly shows of the range and ability of Dustin Kensrue.



This really feels like a personal album to me. You can tell this is music that means something to Dustin, and he is really branching out trying something new and interesting. While this might not be everyone's cup of tea, it's a very well made album and shows of a different but equally good side of Dustin Kensrue."

Very Solid Album

Matt Wheeler | Swainsboro, GA | 02/08/2007

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I've been a fan of Thrice for a while now. I've always been more keen to their heavier stuff rather than their softer stuff, but I when I heard Dustin Kensrue's solo effort, I immediately fell in love with it. The first song I heard, is ironically enough the first song on the album, "I Knew You Before." I knew Thrice was going in new directions with "Vheissu," but I never expeected this. It was a totally enthralled by the music and vocals. It's beautiful folk rock in the raw. Anyone, who likes music in general should enjoy this album.



Key Tracks:

I Knew You Before - song about a good girl gone bad, great lyrics

Pistol - ballad about Dustin's wife, great harmonica

Please Come Home - beautiful ballad that seems to be an homage to the Bible story of the Prodigal Son

Blood and Wine - 100% raw acoustic rampage, very much like Johnny Cash

Blanket of Ghosts - just a great song with great lyrics"