Dave Keller

La Brea

Tastee Tone Records

Vermont’s Dave Keller has been schooled by some of the best. He studied acoustic blues with guitarist Paul Rishell and soul blues with the late, great Robert Ward. After releasing his debut, The Dave Keller Band (1998), Keller came under the mentorship of the legendary Mighty Sam McClain, who lived just across the border in New Hampshire. When his 2011 album Where I’m Coming From won “Best Self-Produced CD” at the International Blues Challenge, Keller began performing alongside another mentor, Johnny Rawls.

In 2014, Keller released Soul Changes, recorded at Royal Studios in Memphis with producer Lawrence “Boo” Mitchell, earning his first Blues Music Award nomination for “Soul Blues Album of the Year.” He followed with 2016’s Right Back Atcha, and in 2018 signed to Catfood Records for Every Soul’s a Star, which garnered another BMA nomination. Since then, Keller has released Live at the Killer Guitar Thriller, You Get What You Give, and It’s Time to Shine.

Now comes his eleventh studio album, La Brea, produced by Keller and co-produced, recorded, mixed, and mastered by Chris Rival at Middleville Studio in North Reading, Massachusetts, in April 2024. All songs were written by Keller.

The ensemble includes Keller on vocals, electric guitar, and vibraphone; Kevin Barry on acoustic, electric, and lap steel guitar; Tom West on Hammond organ and piano; Jesse Williams on upright and electric bass; and Marco Giovino on drums and percussion.

Keller describes his songs as if they were his children. Before recording, he says he visits “the song orphanage,” where too many tunes wait for a home — and only a chosen few make it to the album. Some never will. They just don’t fit the soulful, blues-infused world he’s known for. But as Keller muses, “Is that important?” On La Brea, he shows us that it is.

The opening track, “I Could Fall,” is a tender reflection on love and letting go. Keller sings, “Feels like I lost my voice, feels like I got no choice, any minute I could fall and slip back in… We see each other all the time, we’ve lost the rhythm, lost the rhyme… pictures faded on the wall, guess it’s time to change them all.” It’s a song of rediscovery, with Keller’s soulful voice full of vulnerability and restraint.

“Different Than I Planned” paints a cinematic story of two lovers on the road chasing music and each other. “We met out at the Outback, at a little country gig, we kissed under the old lights, behind the roasted pig… by August we were rolling and we made ourselves a plan… but by the time we got to Memphis, I guess we’d gone too far—you told me you had feelings for the drummer in the band.” It’s pure Keller: funny, human, and heartbreakingly real.

“Your Touch” finds Keller moaning, “They call it magic, serendipity, call it what you want, I call it you and me… I try not to dream about cha, I try not to care so much, but it all comes flooding back when I think about your touch.” It’s a bittersweet soul ballad with raw honesty.

On the playful standout “Singin’ in the Shower,” Keller celebrates love’s small moments: “I heard you singin’ in the shower last night, girl, you sounded so beautiful… I hear your voice as it rises higher, like the angels up above.” It’s joyful, sexy, and one of Keller’s most uplifting performances to date.

“Shiny Things” offers a philosophical moment as Keller groans, “Shiny things don’t matter much, that’s what you said. All that stuff don’t mean a thing after we’re dead.” The stripped-down arrangement keeps the focus on Keller’s voice and message: love outlasts everything.

“When You Land” is spiritual in tone, Keller writing as though leaving a message for a loved one beyond this life. “If I had one last piece of paper and one last pencil too, I’d write a song for you… there ain’t no song can hold me when I’m gone, but when your spirit leaves your body, understand I’ll be there when you land.” It’s deeply moving, a quiet prayer in song.

“With You” lightens the mood as Keller bursts, “I could live in a little beach town, watch the sun go down with you… sail the ocean blue and I’d be okay, every day, long as I’m with you.” It’s pure soul optimism — simple, beautiful, and heartfelt.

On “Onion,” Keller delivers one of his most clever lyrical metaphors: “Lots of things look similar, but are different, that’s for sure… there’s onions, sweet as apple pie, and there’s ones that look just like ’em, make you cry.” It’s humorous and profound, layered just like its title.

“If You Don’t Mind Me Askin’” reunites Keller with an old flame. “It had been 20 years since we’d last seen each other, and 20 years more since we’d kissed… I know it’s not my place, but if you don’t mind me askin’, what the hell happened?” It’s storytelling at its best — conversational, emotional, and disarmingly honest.

On “The Promise,” Keller reflects on love’s fragility. “Sometimes you promise things that you cannot give, though you try with all your might. Sometimes the hand you’re holding slips away in the night.” His voice aches with compassion and experience.

The closing track, “I’m Telling You Now,” is pure gratitude. Keller croons, “It’s a beautiful day in the world, I just wanted to say, thank you girl, for all that you give… don’t you ever forget these words that I say, from the day that we met, ’til my very last day.” It’s a perfect closer, tender and life-affirming.

It’s often said that Dave Keller is a magnificent soul singer and one of the finest songwriters in the modern blues and soul scene. La Brea proves that once again. His lyrics read like poetry, full of humanity, heartbreak, and redemption. He writes from the same deep well as Solomon Burke, John Hiatt, and Arthur Alexander — artists who refused to be confined by genre. Keller’s songs breathe life, memory, and meaning into every note. Ain’t that the truth.

Richard Ludmerer
Contributing Editor / Making A Scene

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