Music Review: Katie Dahl, ‘Seven Stones’
The Wisconsin-born singer-songwriter delivers a poignantly joyful new collection of deeply personal, moving insights.
Katie Dahl’s Seven Stones album artwork.
For Katie Dahl, learning guitar was an accidental journey of self-discovery. And writing the songs on her latest album, Seven Stones, has deepened that process. “Something about this time in the world and in my life has made me want to be as real as possible, both onstage and off,” Dahl says. “I knew there were things I needed to say and hadn’t yet, things I was scared to talk about.”
The eerie, haunting “Both Doors Open” deals with the sense of mortality and awareness of the relentless cycle of life that’s often hidden away from our conscious minds until something happens to push it to the forefront. The doors at either end of a hallway in the song represent the portals through which souls enter and exit the mortal plane. Similarly, in “Silhouette”, tender thoughts about a lover lead to thinking about their death: “I love the shadow of all the things I’ll miss.” A litany of moments follow, both profound and trivial: “crying for the dead man / dancing to Graceland / lighting up a Christmas tree / yelling at the referee … every silent duet / every little regret …”
Coming very much back down to earth, “Since I Was 8” tackles an unfortunately universal problem: “I’ve been trying to lose weight since I was 8 / cause I saw a picture of myself jumping into a lake.” The refrain “What a waste of time” is simple, direct and true, but doesn’t necessarily solve the core issue: “I’m not the kind of girl cares what anybody else might say / I only hate myself a few dozen times a day / then a few dozen more for feeling that way … it’s a game I don’t know how not to play.” In simple but pointed words, Dahl sums up the maddening, exhausting internal struggle that many women (and men) can get wrapped up in, at least when they’re younger and often throughout their lives.
Katie Dahl. Photo credit: Wolfskull Creative.
Despite the heavy themes woven into Seven Stones, Dahl’s voice is like a balm for mental and emotional wounds left by the world, a calm guide for finding moments of insight and acceptance. In the serene, gorgeous “Temperance River,” her mind reaches for pieces of knowledge and understanding only to watch them wash away in the running water, thoughts worn smooth like river stones. It’s melancholy but also soothing, a much softer way of portraying the endless cycle of life, love and loss than some of the other tracks. Imagery of nature recurs throughout the album, a reminder of how life is regenerative and growth is all around us.
Contrasting with many of the bittersweet lullabies on Seven Stones, “Summer Grass” is an upbeat, brash come-on to a crush, wanting to skip past pleasantries and get straight to knowing them deeper: “Take off that winter jacket / cut the chit chat / don’t give me any of that / all I want to know is what makes you sad.” As Dahl imagines the crush’s tragic romantic backstory, it becomes clear the object of her affection is a professor: “I see it in your class when I’m sittin’ at your feet … turn in your grades and we’ll walk in the rain.” The narrator’s cheeky confidence is even more endearing in light of that twist.
Katie Dahl. Photo credit: Wolfskull Creative.
Seven Stones is a collection of stories both plainspoken and profound. With a voice that ranges from deep and resonant to clear and ringing, Dahl fearlessly explores and incisively arrives at the heart of the many human struggles that rage on inside us while nature continues its own journey around us, inexorable and indifferent yet vibrant and comforting and life-giving.
Carol Roth. Photo credit: Dan Lee.
Carol Roth is a full-time marketing copywriter and the primary music journalist and social media publicist for Adventures in Americana. In addition to studying the guitar and songwriting, Carol’s additional creative side hustle is writing self-proclaimed “trashy” novels under the pseudonym T.A. Berkeley!
