The songs on It’s a Complicated Life, their fourth album, are alive with vivid poetry. From deeply personal stories such as Julie’s “The Push and The Pull” recounting a divorce and Dave lamenting his mother’s passing in “Momma’s Gone”, to political tales of angst such as “Workingman’s Blues”, to simple reminders that we’re all in this together with “In the Morning’s” lyric “check on your friends please”, the record speaks both to the moment and to the universal human condition.  

It’s a Complicated Life was recorded over the course of five days at The Tractor Shed in Goodlettsville, TN just outside Nashville. It was produced by Will Kimbrough (Todd Snider, Rodney Crowell), mixed by Trina Shoemaker (Indigo Girls, The Wood Brothers) and engineered by Sean Sullivan (Sturgill Simpson, Molly Tuttle). In addition to the band, the record features Kimbrough on acoustic and electric guitars and the slide variations of both, along with mandolin and Hammond organ. Dave’s brother Eric, an accomplished pianist that performs with the New York Philharmonic, makes a cameo appearance on “Momma’s Gone”.

While It’s a Complicated Life paints a rich picture of the rural west, at its heart it is an ode to the human experience; joyful, weary, and bittersweet, buoyed by an unshakable hope for what tomorrow brings. “This is an album about where we’ve been, where we are, and where we’re going, these are universal stories,” says Dave. “We really hope people find themselves wrapped up in this music much the way we’re wrapped up in our complicated mid-forties, family raising lives.” Sit back, grab yourself a cup of tea – or something a little stronger – and take this record for a spin. You’ll find you’re already a part of the family, bonded by melody and intrigued about what comes next.