Dee Calhoun is an acoustic artist from Frederick, Maryland. Rotgut is an acoustic folk/blues/doom album that transcends all three definitions. This is an album full of pain, anger, sadness, regret, and warning. This album is a reflection of a lifetime worth of experience. There is a lot of heavy on this album, but it’s heavy in a different way than might be expected. This album is heavy in the tangible weight of the sadness. It’s sorrowful, heavy as the weight of the train as it rattles down the rusted tracks. Dee Calhoun excels at crafting visuals and soundscapes.
Rotgut has echos and reflections of the last twenty years or more musically. There’s something for everyone in this album, from the sweetness of singing a song with his son to the mournful musings of Sincerely Yours. This is raw, honest, passionate music, from a raw, honest, and passionate man. I like to listen to this album alone, pensively. I want to learn from this album, take in what I can understand and use it to make myself a better person. Maybe not better, but more cognizant of the future that looms over me, as I look to what has been and try to idly gauge what will become.
Rotgut is streaming through Argonauta Records and is available on their website
Listen here on soundcloud: https://soundcloud.com/argonautarecords/sets/dee-calhoun-rotgut-full-album