Dolorean

With months of touring behind him and new influences exerting their pull, Dolorean’s Al James wanted his new record to add dynamic variety to the gently unfolding narratives of his critically acclaimed 2003 debut, Not Exotic. So when Violence in the Snowy Fields opens with the Byrds-inspired up-tempo shuffle and soaring harmonies of “The Search” (relating the story of Job), it’s clear this isn’t going to be Not Exotic II.

“I feel like I outgrew the structure of those a little bit,” the Portland, Ore., native says of the songs on his debut. “I definitely still stand behind them, but I feel like there was room to grow and tighten up the songs.”

Familiarity helped. James relied on the same team from Not Exotic and his touring band—Ben Nugent (drums), James Adair (bass), The Standard’s Jay Clarke (keys, vibes) and producer Jeff Saltzman (Stephen Malkmus)—while adding Bruce Kaphan (ex-American Music Club) on pedal steel and The Holy Sons’ Emil Amos (guitar) for accents.

Playing together a lot helped, says James, as did feeling more confident in the studio and that “I was also bringing to the table some better songs.”

Those songs may range wider than Not Exotic, but Violence is equally coherent, inspired by the famous book of poetry its title alludes to.

“[Robert’s Bly’s] Silence in the Snowy Fields is about the idea of having nothing to hide behind,” James says. “And it became kind of an overriding concept for the production of the record, too—wanting things to be more direct, no long outros or intros—getting to the meat of the songs right away.”