Richard Buckner pictured here to the right of Alejandro Escovedo

In 2004, Richard Buckner’s “Dents + Shells” was one of my favorite releases on Merge Records. Here’s what Merge has to say:

Lauded by critics and adored by fans, Richard Buckner is one of the most heartfelt and honest songwriters you will ever hear and his first release on Merge Records (and sixth full-length) is a departure of sorts for this modern troubadour. Still full of all the heartbreak of his previous work, Dents and Shells adds some powerful elements with a few full band tracks framing Buckner’s muscular lyrics and powerful voice. The new album was recorded in Tucson (Wavelab Studios) and Austin (Tophat Studios), with a little bit of home and “tent” recordings thrown in to round things out. Following in the storytelling and folk tradions of people as diverse as Townes Van Zandt, Leonard Cohen, Nick Drake, and Richard Thompson Buckner’s approach on Dents and Shells will have fans of recent artists such as Iron & Wine, Cass McCombs, Sufjan Stevens and Damien Jurado listening closely.

You can stream 3 tracks from Dents + Shells right here from Merge.

What brings this post out of nowhere you may ask? Well, Richard is going on tour with Doug Gillard (from Guided by Voices) on guitar! They will be making a stop in Madison at Cafe Montmartre on February 6th. You can view the rest of the tour dates here.