Pretty pianos from a forlorn folkster

Perhaps Morrissey’s recent collapse on stage served as a call to the folk-rock world: Someone needs to step up and assume the role of music’s saddest sack. Trent Dabbs may have the feet to fill those tearstained shoes.

Dabbs is currently touring in support of his forthcoming album, Your Side Now, his fourth solo effort. The album officially drops on Jan. 5, 2010, though the title track is already available for purchase via iTunes.

Every song on this medley of violins, pianos and subtle percussion is overtaken by the lachrymose lyrics Dabbs moans out with breathy tonality and all the sorrow a man can pack into a syllable. That’s not to say each song on the album is whimpering or even particularly depressing: The instrumentation is soulful, even vibrant in spots, and the song structures hearken to the best days of Creeper Lagoon’s history.

However, Dabbs just sounds as though he’s been dumped, fired and mugged in the hour leading up to his recording sessions, and there’s no escaping the melancholy of his voice. The sound will bring you down, but if that’s the mood you’re in, Your Side Now is a fine album certainly worth purchasing.

Dabbs will be in Portland, playing at the Doug Fir on Dec. 6.