Kasey Anderson is favorite for Best New Artist

By ANDREW FICKES

In 2007, Portland songwriter Kasey Anderson hit a high point in his young career following the release of his sophomore album, The Reckoning. He garnered glowing reviews from the likes of Paste, No Depression, and The Onion A/V Club.

It appeared his outspoken candor on the poisoned politics of the Bush era had hit a nerve.

But during that time of high praise, Anderson was closing the door on an eight-year chapter in his life in which he lived in the college town of Bellingham, a town he describes as “an insulated little community.”

For Anderson, living in Bellingham felt like a forgotten weekend. On his newest release, Nowhere Nights, Anderson goes deep within himself and reveals a personal side not yet shared with listeners, sharing the trials and tribulations of living in a small town and finally having the resolve to say goodbye to it all.

The 11-track album produced by Eric “Roscoe” Ambel and released on Red River Records, finds Anderson in a contemplative and free-wheeling mood.

The energy, the song craft, and the cinematic delivery of each song establishes Anderson high on the Best New Artist list for 2010. This is an artist to follow into the new decade.

The album slices and dices between straight up bar brawling rock tunes like “All Lit Up,” and “Torn Apart,” to rock ballads like “Home,” “From Now On,” and “Like Teenage Gravity.”

On the opening track, “Bellingham Blues,” Anderson’s weariness of the town shows in his rugged, scarred voice, as he sings, “This ain’t never been my home.”

Underneath it all, many of Anderson’s songs can come off as just some lonesome country song. At times, his voice twangs. But compared to the clichéd country singers, Anderson adds more in terms of lyrics, storytelling, and heartfelt delivery. Nothing sounds pretentious in this set of songs, where it’s hard to find a bad one in the bunch.

For those who love the musicianship of Bob Dylan, Jakob Dylan, Ryan Adams, Tom Petty, John Mellencamp, and Bruce Springsteen, Anderson’s style adds to the same canon.

Those fans who want to catch Anderson live, can find him performing Sunday, Feb. 28 at the Sunset Tavern (Seattle) and Friday, March 26 at the Conor Byrne (Seattle). Other Washington and Oregon tour stops can be found at www.kaseyanderson.com.

Key Tracks: “Bellingham Blues,” “I Was a Photograph,” and “Real Gone.”