“Jared Tyler sings and plays as good as anybody. Period.
His songs are poignant justice.” — Malcolm Holcombe
“He transcends all the boundaries of music with a remarkable force
that makes his music timeless.” —Ray Kennedy
At a fevered time roiled by anxiety and hatred, what more healing antidote is there than love? Tulsa native and respected multi-instrumentalist Jared Tyler’s third album, Dirt on Your Hands, celebrates romance, to be sure, but also the grounded, loyal love of family, friends, and characters who illuminate one’s life with lightning-bolt intensity.
Thematically, it builds on 2010’s Here With You, which was informed by Tyler’s mounting dismay over the country’s direction. “I felt like, ‘Hey, y’all, wake up, it’s all about love,’” he recalls. Dirt on Your Hands is a rootsier, more compositionally focused Americana set bookended by paeans of devotion to his partner, and livened by sparkling romps (“Lucky I Am,” the pedal steel-washed “Fort Gibson Lake,” the Dobro-grooving title track) that dispense homegrown wisdom passed down by Tyler’s grandparents. At times he sounds like Darrell Scott’s kid brother, vividly evoking cherished people (“Gwendolyn”) and places (the beautifully melodic “Norway”) with his soulful tenor and nimble fretwork on guitar, Dobro, mandolin and ukulele. The longtime Malcolm Holcombe sideman also warmly interprets two of his boss’ songs, with gravelly harmonies from Holcombe himself.
Tyler has recorded eight albums with the “super inspiring” Holcombe (two of which he produced) and toured with him throughout North America and Europe, opening for the likes of Billy Bragg, Merle Haggard, Shelby Lynne and Wilco. On his own, Tyler has opened for Karl Denson and Nickel Creek, and relished performing onstage alongside heroes Emmylou Harris and Buddy Miller after Harris sang on his 2005 album Blue Alleluia.
Those enlightening experiences burnished Tyler’s artistry, and readied him for a broader stage on which to share his openhearted stories. Dirt on Your Hands is his most relaxed, truly realized album, recorded live in the studio with guitarist Kenny Vaughn, bassist Dave Roe and drummer Dave Dunseath, with additional contributions from virtuosic fiddler Casey Driessen, harmonica player Jellyroll Johnson, songwriter/pianist John Fullbright, clarinetist Mike Cameron, slide guitarist Seth Lee Jones and pedal steel player Roger Ray. Elements of bluegrass, country, gospel, pop, swing and Hawaiian music joyfully color images from Tyler’s past, and suggest a vision for his musical path forward.
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