Your Side Now

Trent Dabbs makes his own music. Seems a silly statement to make at the outset of a music review, but chances are you’ve missed Dabbs’ own tunes for the sake of the attention given to his other works. Between co-writes for artists like Mat Kearney and Joy Williams and the attention given to his brainchild Ten Out of Tenn, Dabbs remains in the spotlight for things other than his own solo work. Your Side Now, then, presents the perfect opportunity to right the ship.

Dabbs’ previous songwriting efforts garnered placement on everything from “The OC” to “Grey’s Anatomy” and Your Side Now reveals several more tunes ready-made for the same broad spotlight. Heartfelt tracks like “Wishful Thinking” allow Dabbs to cry familiar singer/songwriter tears in unfamiliar ways. That’s the magic of Dabbs — his ability to remain completely within and yet firmly apart from the genre.

“Wake Up Call” playfully introduces the album, playing coy with plucking strings before letting the same instruments breathe deeply in the chorus. The dreamy production on “Dear Jane” is fantastic, even though the song itself is as straightforward as it comes. The title track sounds like a Matthew Perryman Jones offering, a gentle construct longing to switch viewpoints in a relationship.

As beautiful as the talent Trent Dabbs helps to introduce to the masses, it’s his own music that merits the most attention. Your Side Now deserves every bit of acclaim it can muster.

— Matt Conner

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