Ryan Dugré: Three Rivers
Ryan Dugré

Brooklyn guitarist Ryan Dugré composed the material for Three Rivers, his follow-up to last year's The Humors, using a ‘write a song a day' approach. Don't assume, however, that such a strategy spawned material that's unfinished, as it's assuredly not. That's explained, in part, by the fact that after building up a collection of song ideas, Dugré spent the subsequent months working on arrangements in his home studio and then re-recorded the songs in October 2019 at Trout Recording in Brooklyn. Thankfully, the freshness and spontaneity of the initial sketches didn't get lost in the makeover, the outcome an album that feels creatively fresh yet polished. These songs sparkle and feel honest and genuine.

Acoustic guitar is the central instrument, but Three Rivers doesn't align itself to the finger-picking genre. The material's expansive sound is attributable to the guests Dugré invited aboard: Brett Lanier (pedal steel guitar), Adam Dotson (flugabone), Eric Lane (synthesizer), and Sean Mullins (drums), with strings by violinist Thomas Martin, violist Hannah Selin, and cellist Ali Jones and string arrangements by Ian McLellan Davis. Dugré handles everything else, naturally, not just guitars but piano too. Yes, there are moments where a trace of Fahey or Basho emerges, but the release more registers as a thoughtfully arranged, lovingly crafted instrumental set of diverse character. Sometimes pastoral, the dozen songs are evocative and their message clear.

Opening at a languorous high, gentle breezes blow through “Living Language” when lustrous picking's enveloped in strings and punctuated by wistful piano and stirring pedal steel figures. The charming “Old Hotel” follows, its sunny keyboard melody tickling the ear and its bossa nova rhythm doing the same to the body. A bright keyboard timbre adds an ethereal quality to “Foxglove” that nicely counters the acoustic timbres of the guitar (an old Harmony tenor guitar for this song) and strings.

Whereas some songs exude childlike innocence, others present a darker, shadowy side (e.g., the brooding “Stalking Horse”). As if to purposefully stress that the album shouldn't be slotted into the finger-picking category, “Shining” positions piano at the centre and bolsters its melancholy drama with pedal steel and strings. As the album passes the halfway mark, the material grows introspective, the move signified by a number of lovely guitar passages in “Big Pictures, Wide Open Spaces,” “Other Minds,” “Wing,” and “Lumima.” It's fitting that Three Rivers should end with an affectionate homage to Dugré's great-grandfather, “Glace Bay,” who was born in the Nova Scotia coal mining town.

Though thirty-six minutes is a modest total (by CD standards, anyway), Three Rivers benefits from concision when each song makes its case with dispatch, most of them in the two- to three-minute range. It's an album you'll want to return to, as good an endorsement as any.

February 2021