Riley Downing, the unmistakable raspy voice you know from The Deslondes.. he lands somewhere between velvet & corduroy. Warm, worn, comfortable and casual. On Landfill Poetry, his sophomore solo release, arriving Aug. 28th via John Prine’s Oh Boy! Records, Downing sounds exactly where he’s meant to be. It’s difficult to imagine a label better suited to both the man and his music.
Landfill Poetry strips things back a bit from his solo debut, Start It Over. Downing’s storytelling remains among the finest in Americana, and his voice continues to be one of the genre’s most distinctive instruments.
There is a humility woven throughout this record that extends well beyond the songwriting. As unpretentious as they come.. Downing embodies the kind of blue-collar authenticity that can’t be manufactured. He writes about ordinary lives with extraordinary compassion. His songs remind us that there is beauty tucked inside overlooked places & forgotten people – less is more & if you’re willing to slow down long enough to take it all in.
Downing explains, “A good handful of these songs & ideas I had kept in my bindle sack of a brain, or moved from one pile to another, but never burying them too far down to be lost forever. A true junk man or woman knows the feeling of never really wanting to throw anything away.”
That sentiment serves as the emotional backbone of Landfill Poetry. The songs are like salvaged treasures – dug up from a small box in a shed out back somewhere near Kansas City. Life’s passing moments, shelved ideas, & quiet observations given new life through Downing’s deeply human perspective.
The title track & first single off the new record, “Landfill Poetry,” sets the tone, while “Country Fool” is another standout. Truthfully, though, singling out highlights almost undersells the experience. This is an album best absorbed from beginning to end.. soak in it’s understated beauty.
In an era when so much music competes to be louder, bigger, or more immediate, Riley has leaned into subtle charm and picking on the porch.
