John Doe – Dim Stars, Bright Sky
John Doe’s latest solo record has a palpable, live-in-a-room vibe. Doe, Joe Henry and Dave Way jointly produced it, coaxing down star-shine from the Los Angeles skies to set the sessions aglow. For that matter, the X vocalist has said he was aiming less for something alt-countryish and more toward an intimate, acoustic-based Elliott Smith feel.
On that count, he’s clearly succeeded. Doe’s once-leathery voice here sounds wistfully tuneful, sketching out sad-eyed vignettes of glances exchanged across rooms, of the insurmountable spaces between earnest minds, and of “broken bones beyond repair.” Acoustic though it may be, Dim Stars, Bright Sky is a pop album, as evidenced by the warm, piano/acoustic guitar ballad “7 Holes” and the romantic, Paul McCartneyesque “Still You”.
The record’s also loaded with some key guest vocals too: Aimee Mann submits her signature gorgeous croon to the spangly pop-twanger “This Far”, while Rhett Miller takes the low harmony to Doe’s high in the rootsy/strummy gem “Backroom”. Elsewhere, Jane Wiedlin, Jakob Dylan and Juliana Hatfield turn up — but it’s still Doe’s show, and he makes the most of it. Dim Stars, Bright Sky may startle old-school X fans, but its understated vibe is what lies at the heart of its appeal.