Jeffrey Silverstein's 'Doggone' Finds the Hooks Hiding Inside Cosmic Country
Jeffrey Silverstein’s first album for Full Time Hobby was recorded at The Center for Sound, Light & Color Therapy in Portland, Oregon — a studio name so on-the-nose for cosmic country that it would be suspicious if the record weren’t this good. Ryan Oxford (Y La Bamba, Rose City Band) engineered, mixed and produced; Amy Dragon mastered. The Line of Best Fit’s Janne Oinonen gave it an 8 and wrote that “Doggone is a gem of an album capable of conjuring potent hypnotic states,” with the crucial addendum that “these songs have hidden depths and sharp hooks.” Raven Sings The Blues agreed it “rounds out as one of Silverstein’s best yet.”
The Sonic Breakdown
The Production & Mix
The Low-End: Alex Chapman’s bass is mixed low and round, and it mostly refuses to move — long tones holding under chord changes rather than tracking them. That’s the hypnosis mechanism. Dana Buoy of Akron/Family keeps the kit similarly economical, so the groove feels less like propulsion than like drift with a pulse.
The Spatial Dynamics: Oxford mixes Rick Pedrosa’s pedal steel and electric guitar as atmosphere rather than lead — they bleed across the stereo field instead of sitting in a slot, and Paul Damian Hogan’s keys on “Out of Tune,” “Helluva” and “Patchouli” fill the gaps. Amy Dragon’s master keeps real dynamic range, which is why the quiet passages stay quiet instead of being pumped up to match.
Standout Performance
Merle Law’s guest vocal on “Realize.” Oinonen singled it out as “an affectingly naked ode to the possibility of happiness,” and the duet is the record’s one moment of plain, unhazed directness. Devendra Banhart’s turn on “Out of Tune” is the showier guest spot; “Realize” is the one that lands.
Why It’s Certified
⚡ “Portland Works” is the single and the obvious entry point, all choogle and no hurry.
🌈 Blu Midyett’s saxophone on “Patchouli” is the record’s best left turn.
⚡ Nine tracks, 28:49, and closer “Onlyness” earns the title.
Raven Sings The Blues called it organic. We’d call it the rare drone-adjacent record with choruses. Certified great.