Dusty Stray: Estranged

Breakups are responsible for a lot of great music. Estranged, the new album by Dusty Stray (moniker of Jonathan Brown), is filled with smoldering anger, grief and despair. He took a long hard look at himself and the bad ending of yet another relationship. With his vocals and acoustic guitar, banjo and ukulele at the core of the song he lays down dreamy freak folk songs, enhanced by keyboards, omnichord, backwards masking and almost church like backing vocal arrangements. Estranged is pretty intense and the bleakness may put of occasional listeners - who might try the early Pink Floyd-esque After the Play or Through The Atmosphere as a first taste.

Brown tries to make sense of it all, but fears that he will end up alone when he is Old And Gray. Now based in Amsterdam, the American musician has traveled far and wide, mostly on account of falling in love again and following the woman in question to her native country. So far, music has proven to be his sole solid companion over the years.