The Smokey Lonesome: “Desert Run” (2024) CD Review

The Smokey Lonesome is the duo of Dave Porter and Natalie Fratino. They are based in Los Angeles, and have been playing together for many years, yet are only now putting out their first CD. Titled Desert Run, this EP features all original material written by the duo. Natalie Fratino is on vocals, electric bass, standup bass and percussion; Dave Porter is on vocals, guitar and percussion. Joining them on this disc are Dennis Fetchet on fiddle and Kevin Jarvis on drums and percussion. Kevin Jarvis also engineered and mixed the EP.

The EP opens with “Frontera,” which has a delicious raw vibe, this track taking us to a land that might seem familiar, but which is really created by these guys, the song like a vibrant story. “Hook up a team of horses/We’ll cross the border to the city of the Sonoran/L.A. evening never swayed like this/And the horses are getting out of hand.”  Dave Porter is on lead vocals for this one, and he isn’t afraid of getting loose and wild, and the results are wonderful. This song was written by Dave Porter, Natalie Fratino, Roderick Smith and Rick Willson. Natalie Fratino then sings lead on “Sweet Cowgirl.” This song develops a good rhythm at the start, like horses freely running across the plain, before she comes in on vocals. This track feels like it is about the motion, and not just because of the rhythm, but because of Natalie’s vocal approach. Her voice also has a sweet power. “My eyes/Would never open/Keep on/Keep on dreaming you.” Her voice has been likened to that of Sally Timm, and, yeah, I can hear that on certain words. This track also features some pretty work on fiddle.

“Desert Run,” the EP’s title track, begins with some cool work on guitar with a bluesy edge. Dave Porter sings lead on this track, and I love the way he delivers these lyrics. His delivery is somewhat unhinged, which is great, and works well with lines like “But now the cops are here/And here we’re caught/Behind a dumpster, for a leak/They say something’s up with my eyes.” Certainly not the usual fare. There is something surprising even about the rhythm of the vocal line. The guitar sets “Arid Blues” in motion too, and Dave Porter is on lead vocals for this song as well. This song also mentions the desert: “Do I look at the stars/Up in the desert sky/Or the surrounding black?” This one has a steady rhythm, with Kevin Jarvis on the drum kit. The rhythm has a good vibe about it, and so the lyrics hit us perhaps even more sharply, for they too are unexpected. Check out these lines: “I don’t know/The depth of your sadness, maybe we could take an interest in grown-up things/I know/It never completely passes.” The EP concludes with “Mojave.” Yes, this duo has taken us out to the desert with these tracks, and is leaving us out there. And that is just fine, for we have begun to make a home for ourselves in the world of these songs. “Mojave stretching before me/I’m drawn toward you/Away from everyone else/Your expression so open/Aloneness in your eyes/Living apart.”

CD Track List

1. Frontera
2. Sleep Cowgirl
3. Desert Run
4. Arid Blues
5. Mojave

Desert Run was released on June 28, 2024.