TJ Masters
On the eve of his upcoming album release, Alex Dupree celebrates the jubilant jestering of Southern folk music with fellow tradition-bending songwriters Julian Neel and Alicia Gail. Talking to the Dog, Dupree’s new record, is a series of psychedelic psalms that slots into a storytelling legacy alongside Neil Young and Harry Crews. From hallucinogenic, revelatory single “New Meaning” and wisecracking love song “Room for One More” to the sensual malaise of “Voyager Blue” and lucidity-bending “You’re a Dog, Don’t Talk to Me,” this 10-track feast of songwriting is garnished with jazz lounge piano, blues guitar, and folk rhythms. – Caroline Drew