Brain Dunne said recently he’s “obsessed with failure,” so the title of his latest LP, Loser On The Ropes, is fitting. And who can blame him, the winner’s story is always so predictable and boring. It’s much more fun – and relatable – to focus on those who almost made it or even better, those who never were in the running in the first place. That every guy, underdog vibe, much like his earlier efforts, can be heard all over Dunne’s latest record.
This album follows his criminally underrated 2020 LP Selling Things and last year’s debut he put out as part of the Americana/folk supergroup Fantastic Cat. The record opens on the title track, a surprisingly emotional anthem about trying to simply get through life despite obstacles adding up, a theme that resurfaces again and again across the album. “Cause of the two things I have learned in life/While staring at my shoes/You either learn to love the cosmic lie/Or you learn to love the blues,” he sings. And there is the charm of Dunne’s music; he comes across as uncomplicated, but everything from his playing to his lyrics are deceptively brilliant.
Loser On The Ropes is a solid step froward from the already impressive Selling Things. Recorded in Athens, GA with producer Drew Vandenberg (Faye Webster, Of Montreal), everything that made his last solo record so great is enhanced just a little more. The lyrics are just as darkly funny as the last go round, but just seem slightly more pointed this time. And musically, Dunne embraces his pop tendances just a little tighter, including more addition of synths throughout the record. That’s not to say there is a drastic change in sound from 2020 to now, just a few more musical gambles that pay off each time. The dark, but driving “It’s A Miracle,” is a perfect example, bringing in pianos halfway into the song to completely change the direction and mood.
At a time when even the cross generational working-class hero Bruce Springsteen decided to cash in and sell his everyman reputation to the highest bidder on his latest tour, it’s good to see we still have someone looking out for the “losers.” As Dunne sings on “Rockaway,” “Some people wanna be real well known/Written in the folds of a Rolling Stone/I don’t wanna leave here alone.”
