Luke Spehar’s stunning third album

Minneapolis born and based, Luke Spehar has a number of releases to his credit and his latest effort, The Pilgrim, stands as his fullest achievement yet. Seven tracks are included on The Pilgrim revisiting similar sonic territory explored on his earlier collections, but the third release finds his songwriting point of view forever expanded and an increasingly subtle musical tapestry. The acoustic sound of the album is warm and well rounded; he’s given a lot of attention to the album’s production and, as a result, The Pilgrim achieves immense gravitas without ever belaboring its own profundity. This is, naturally, a classic example of singer/songwriter themed fare, but Spehar writes with a satisfying literary flair while still providing listeners with thoroughly imaginative musical landscapes drawing listeners in from the first note and retaining their attention throughout the entirety of each song and the collection as a whole.

The low key instrumentation of “The Farmer” is a signature of Spehar’s style and finds near ideal expression in this performance. Spehar’s understated vocal range nonetheless gently aches throughout the track’s entirety and lends additional gravitas to the lyrics. The lean inclinations of his musical arrangement apply equally to his writing style and he avoids anything smacking of wasted motion. “America and Me” is a deceptively simple song with an even more muted approach than we heard with the opener. The song title illustrates some of the subtle ambitions shading this release – Spehar has a much wider range than the sound of these songs may directly imply, but he doesn’t loudly announce his intentions and, instead, invites listeners to engage with the material on their own terms. Aaron Fabbrini’s upright bass playing is exceptional on this track and there’s some superb banjo playing from Michael Rossetto.

The album’s single “Love Songs and Lullabies” definitely packs some of The Pilgrim’s strongest melodic punch. Spehar’s straight-forward, conversational poetry defining the lyrics suits the arrangement quite nicely and benefits from one of Spehar’s more sensitive vocals. It’s obvious why Spehar has chosen this track for a single spot; it plays to Spehar’s strengths while still exhibiting such a sweet, appealing sound that casual listeners may latch onto Spehar’s songwriting gifts and explore more. “Every season has its blessings and its burdens…” Spehar delivers lyrics like that with a hushed, tempered manner during the song “Which Road” and it ranks among the album’s highlights. Aaron Fabbrini contributes once again, this time with some artful pedal steel playing. The wisdom running deep through this song is one of the album’s most powerful examples of Spehar’s craftsmanship.

“The Pilgrim” is an outstanding title song. His lyrics reach for new insights here and handily achieve them; few working today can match or surpass his depiction of life’s journeys and they are enriched by the undeniable introspective qualities of the songwriting. The fiddle playing in the song naturally accentuates the rustic, Americana feel of the material, but that isn’t the point – instead, we’re here for its message and immense soulfulness. The turbulent guitar work and accompaniment opening the finale “Joshua” gives the album an unexpectedly emphatic final curtain, but the rousing chorus and sharp writing brings