On his upcoming release Collecting Dust, Bob Harp's gently earnest delivery brings him in line with the 1972 continuum of singer-songwriters like James Taylor and Gordon Lightfoot. But the album's stark, unfussy production gives it a makeshift, living room–studio feel, à la Bonnie Prince Billy or American Music Club. The local songwriter's forlorn tenor, laid upon stripped-down, predominantly acoustic instrumentation, is full of restless emotions, while his somber melodies are oddly comforting. Dust has a timeless quality for the reflective times brought about by bad weather and individual misfortune.
