Jared Dustin Griffin: “Battle Cry Mercy” (2023) CD review

Jared Dustin Griffin is a singer and songwriter with a great raw delivery. You might know him from his work in Rocks & Salt, a duo with Nicole Ridgwell. They put out an album titled Serpentine last year. And now he is releasing his first solo album. Titled Battle Cry Mercy, it features all original material. He plays acoustic guitar and harmonica on these tracks. Joining him on this album are Frank Swart on bass, Larry Eagle on drums and percussion, Stefano Intelisano on organ and accordion, Audley Freed on electric guitar and acoustic guitar, Jenn Gunderman on piano and organ, John Deaderick on piano and organ, Russ Pahl on pedal steel, Greg Morrow on drums and percussion, Scott Amendola on drums and percussion, Eamon McLoughlin on fiddle and mandolin, Ross Holmes on fiddle and mandolin, Van Plating on fiddle, Mai  Bloomfield on cello, Sebastian Steinberg on upright bass, and Joe Newberry on banjo. Alice Spencer, Kelley Mickwee, Heather Little, Jabe Beyer, and Roscoe Wilson provide backing vocal work on this disc.

The album opens with “My Name Is Cannonball.”  Jared Dustin Griffin delivers some good work on harmonica at the beginning, and throughout the track. His raw, rough vocal delivery is striking, and in some contrast to the beautiful work on fiddle. This is a compelling song that simultaneously pulls us down and lifts us up. The lyrics mention soaring, and it is the fiddle that seems to soar, which is interesting, because the soaring of the song’s lyrics is done by a cannonball launched at an enemy during a war. This track also features a good bass line.  Then “Bleed You Away” has a great folk vibe as it begins. “But the mountains rose/To let the rivers flow/Through the timelessness of my heart breaking.” As the band kicks in, the song takes on more of a country flavor, with that nice work pedal steel. And this track features some strong backing vocal work. But it is Jared Dustin Griffin’s passionate vocal delivery that makes this track stand out. This is one of my personal favorites.

“Sweet Ol’ Loneliness” opens with these lines: “She cries herself to sleep/And dreams of things that used to be/Well, I don’t know what it means to me/But it haunts me still.” It then kicks in to have a steady beat, and features great work on both fiddle and mandolin. The song addresses loneliness, something that has serious, detrimental effects on one’s health. Yet the song has a lively vibe, as if the music itself might combat loneliness. That’s followed by “Little Arrows,” another of the album’s highlights, in part because of its lyrics. “So hold my hand and break my heart, love is misery/Well, I’ve been doing everything that I can to keep your company.” This track features excellent work on both fiddle and banjo, and some nice backing vocals. And check out these lines: “I try my best not to bleed/But sometimes this flesh won’t hold what it needs/But I held these arrows for you.” Wow. I love the folk vibe of this song, but it is lines like those that make this track something special. Blood is an image that is also used in “Bottle On The Stove,” in which Jared Dustin Griffin sings, “There’s trouble in the air at night, and there’s blood upon your skin.” This track has an undeniable power. The backing vocals seem like a chorus from a battle, or its smoking remnants, and this track features more fantastic, dramatic work on fiddle.

“Hold My Troubles” has a more intimate sound, a lonesome sound, particularly that work on harmonica. That raw vocal delivery is perfect, expressing weariness. It is a voice of some experience. And again, he shows his talent for crafting a powerful and meaningful lyric. “It takes time to know the difference between a hardship and a curse/The distance it takes to travel through one of ‘em is much worse/So I ride like the wind to keep ahead of it/I pray that my miles can cover up my wrongs.”  Jared Dustin Griffin certainly has no trouble drawing us in and holding our attention. “Howlin’” begins with some pretty, but sad-sounding work on fiddle, and then his voice comes to us, bare and hurt and determined. And the deep hum of the words “blow” and “soul” hit us in the gut, reverberate there. “Life is a tragedy, carved out of marble and beauty/And I’ve come to embrace madness in all of its forms.” In the track’s second half, that drum work comes like a march, driving us on. What an incredible song. I highly recommend checking out this entire album, but especially this song.

“Black & Gold” has a lighter vibe, with some nice work on accordion. “I hold onto hope when I need believin’ that I’m a little more than I once was.” And the sweet backing vocals joining him seem to say that he is a little more. This is a rather short song. It is followed by “Outpost Blues.” This one has a full sound, and an uplifting effect, particularly the work on fiddle, even as the lyrics perhaps take us in a different direction. “But we’re holding on oh so strong, but I must confess/Don’t hold your breath/Darlin’ we ain’t got nothing left.” I don’t know exactly why, but I feel optimistic hearing this music. Is it just those three words, “we’re holding on”? Perhaps. But something in this song feels like it’s going to push on into a better world. The album opened with a song mentioning war, and it concludes with another, “Landmines,” this a more personal sort of war. Jared Dustin Griffin sings of forgiveness and needing to find courage. “And I know that tomorrow is on its way/And still I am so damn afraid.” Though this one takes us to a darker place, there is still hope here. “And I don’t know if this bridge is built strong enough to cross/But maybe what brought us here is meant to help us get across.”

CD Track List

1. My Name Is Cannonball
2. Bleed You Away
3. Sweet Ol’ Loneliness
4. Little Arrows
5. Bottle On The Stove
6. Hold My Troubles
7. Howlin’
8. Black & Gold
9. Outpost Blues
10. Landmines

Battle Cry Mercy is scheduled to be released on November 17, 2023.