Dave Muir - From the Sunrise Coast

Dave Muir

From the Sunrise Coast
​self-released; 2022

By Jamie Funk
​

Dave Muir is a musical artist from Ottawa, currently based in Atlantic Canada. Dave has been crafting his unique style and sound since the early ‘80s performing in various blues, rock, roots and acoustic groups. Muir recently released From the Sunrise Coast. 

From the Sunrise Coast is a very well produced album with an array of instrumentation and well- crafted songs. There’s a mix of genres and the more obvious references are Americana, folk and rock.

The album gets going with “Runaway Ghost” and is just a wonderful song. Great guitar work, puts you in a good mood and I thought Muir had a great delivery on the vocals. The vocal melodies are memorable and it's a smooth and fun song from beginning to end. It felt like a good way to start the album but also a live set.

I loved “Highway” which pours on warm nostalgia with a side of melancholy. The song has sun bursts of emotion which come in the form of reverb laced slide guitar. Muir absolutely nails the vocals. Killer song and if you like the band The War on Drugs this should immediately resonate. 

They break out an acoustic guitar and harmonica on “Joyville.” It sounds great stripped back but the song gets to a different level of emotion when the other instruments enter into the mix. The guitar work is exceptional, especially the lead around the four-and-a-half-minute mark.

We get the first really intimate song with “In the Day.”.Airy synths glide with guitars here. The song is a bit of a slow burn and turns into a song that feels like it’s a reflection on gratitude.
I absolutely loved “Sideman Serenade.” This sounds like a blues session outside a rustic shack. It’s very traditional sounding but does build into something a little more rock oriented.

“Seen the Wind” is a piano led ballad with some of the brightest and joyous vibes on the album while “Christian” is a little more pensive and moody. Muir continues to establish his sound with “Arcadia” and “A Comedy of Air (Or One About The WInd).” Last up is “The Lay of the Land” which starts as a melancholy ballad that leads to one of the most epic moments on the album not too far from Pink Floyd.

My only critique is some of the songs felt like they could have been trimmed down a bit. The first four songs are all over six minutes and I felt getting one of two of these closer to the three or four minute mark may have made it more impactful.

Overall, this is unequivocally a great album from a great artist. The songwriting was not only consistently good but the flow of the album was dynamic. This album was an easy win for me. Take a listen.

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