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Arthur Dodge
The Perfect Face

Maybe it’s the chilly winds and vastness of the grey skies, the amber waves of grain, or the strong booze at the roadside bars, but something about the Midwest fosters artists who have a mesmerizing and wry sense of sanguinity about them. Regardless, this country would not be the same without them. Enter Arthur Dodge: singer, songwriter, guitar player, lover of women, Kansas City Star.

(Ok, technically Dodge is from the much cooler town of Lawrence, but it fit.) Arthur Dodge has been playing, writing, and singing for several years now; his lyrical unpredictability, smoke-tinged vocals and whisky-smooth sound have won the hearts of fellow Kansans and music lovers everywhere. This newest release, The Perfect Face, maintains Dodge’s seamless blend of traditional country and folk-pop. On the opening track you hear that his sardonic ideas are still there and better than ever: “She wants a cowboy, I play one on TV/ She wants the real thing, something I’m never gonna be/ All I want is the girl in the long blue dress.”

Though this is his first solo effort (his last four albums were credited to Arthur Dodge and the Horsefeathers), each of his band mates appears on part of the album, as do Adrianne Verhoeven (formerly of the Anniversary and currently touring as part of Orenda Fink’s band) and Eric Mardis (banjo, Split Lip Rayfield). The overall sound is nothing short of comforting and lovely, or as Dodge himself puts it, “They’re acoustic love songs, with a wink.”

Dodge’s dry sense of humor is not just a songwriting thing… he’s always like that. When asking about Dodge’s past performances, he says, “Well I shared the stage with Neil Young…” then, with a chortle, “technically speaking.” As the story goes, Arthur Dodge had a Courtney-Cox-ian moment, minus the hit TV show, when Lucinda Williams pulled Arthur on stage during Young’s Greendale tour. Dodge keeps a pretty realistic outlook on life and music, though, despite his brush with fame. He sees all types showing up in his audience, from shoegazing indie kids to the Uncle Tupelo/Wilco crowd, and even sometimes hears comparisons to Randy Newman.

Although Dodge’s vocals aren’t near as kitschy as Newman’s, he holds one thing in common with the aging TV theme songster: Dodge’s music is timeless. Dodge’s music is real; it’s fad-less, from the familiar-sounding strains of “Black Blue Jeans” to the universal-with-a-twist theme of “That’s the Way That She Wants It.” Check out The Perfect Face and hear it for yourself.

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