On 11.14.25, Soul/Roots torchbearer Dave Keller releases his new all-original album, La Brea, on Tastee Tone Records. A stripped-down affair, it lives at the perfect intersection of Soul, Country, and Roots. Inspired by hard-to-pigeonhole artists such as Solomon Burke (Nashville), John Hiatt (Crossing Muddy Waters), and Arthur Alexander (Lonely Just Like Me), it may prove Keller’s best yet.

 

Recorded in April 2024 at Chris Rival’s Middleville Studio, outside Boston, the album features Keller singing with a depth and an intimacy that is startling at times, meditating on heartbreak, romance, and – on the horizon – death. “I’ve held this one close to my chest,” Keller says. “I almost didn't want to release it.”

 

Why La Brea? “Do you know about the tar pits in California?”, Keller asks. “La Brea means “the tar”. These songs were buried in my subconscious. Like the bones of some prehistoric animal that got trapped in the tar. And after years and years, they finally rose to the surface. Wanting to be cleaned off. Examined. Remembered.”

 

Rather than cloak them in a full band sound, Keller wanted the songs to breathe. The result is Keller’s most spare album since 2009's Play For Love. Warm, and open. Keller sang all the songs live, with a mere handful of vocal overdubs. No Auto-Tune either.

 

To craft the album, Keller’s first call was Jesse Williams (North Mississippi Allstars, Jimmy Vivino, Duke Robillard), who signed on to play upright bass. “I wanted that openness that only an upright has. And Jesse’s not only a killer bassist, but he’s a friend. He has that ‘sympatico’ thing that you want in the studio.”

 

Williams, in turn, connected him with Rival, and brought in the cream of Boston’s touring musicians. (Keller has called Vermont home since 1993, but was born in Worcester, MA, and lived in the Boston area in his 20s. This is the first album he’s recorded in his native state.)

 

In an unusual move, Keller, who is known for his guitar chops, chose not to play on ten of the eleven songs. “I really wanted to put all my focus into the singing. To be ‘in’ the songs, without having to think about playing guitar.” Williams suggested a magical choice: master guitarist Kevin Barry (Jackson Browne, Roseanne Cash, Ray LaMontagne).

 

“When Jesse suggested Kevin for the album, I think I lost my breath for a second.” You see, Mighty Sam McClain, the late deep Soul singer, was a dear friend and mentor to Keller. And Barry played guitar on McClain’s comeback albums in the early 1990s. “Those first two albums of Sam’s are desert island discs for me. They practically saved my life when I was going through my divorce. To have Kevin on the record brought everything full circle.” Barry even brought the same Martin guitar to the session that he played on McClain’s classic song, “Give It Up to Love”. And on half the songs, he plays the most gorgeous lap steel you’re likely to hear anywhere.

 

Drummer/percussionist Marco Giovino (Robert Plant, Tom Jones, Bettye LaVette) brought subtle rhythmic elements to the songs. “Marco’s so creative. He doesn’t sound like other drummers,” Keller says. “He combines his drum set with these weird shakers and rattles and things. At one point, I closed my eyes, and it sounded like somebody dragging a dead body across a frozen lake surrounded by mountains.”

 

Towards the end of the sessions, Rival brought in Tom West (Peter Wolf, Bettye LaVette) to add bittersweet Hammond organ, which acts a kind of sonic glue, giving distinct Van Morrison vibes.

 

The album's first cut, “I Could Fall” was recorded live in one take. “I had to keep from crying,” Keller explains. “You can hear my voice crack in one spot. We were all really feeling it. And when it was over, I had that goosebump, full-body-sweat thing.” (It's a song that's lucky to exist at all, given that Keller had originally sung it into an old iPhone, which ended up in a washing machine. Four months in a bowl of rice dried it out just enough to play back the song and save it from oblivion.)

 

Another one-take song is “Your Touch”. “This one,” Keller says, “means the most to me. It's about trying to forget, and how impossible it is. I put my whole heart into it. To be honest, it’s hard for me to listen to it.”

 

“Different Than I Planned” and “If You Don’t Mind Me Askin’” are deep, detailed story-songs. “Shiny Things” hits the bitter button hard, while “The Promise” offers apology. “Onions” speaks to the difficulty of discerning a good romantic match. “Singing In The Shower” and “With You” show faith in the sweetness of love. And “When You Land” and “I'm Telling You Now” find Keller staring into the face of death, with a mix of fear and respect, hope and bravery.

 

Maybe that’s it. There’s a level of bravery that’s new here. The honesty of the songwriting. The in-the-moment recording process. The space that surrounds, and permeates, the music. The willingness to step beyond genre boundaries. It’s an album that asks you to put aside whatever you’re doing, and be present.

 

Maybe you’ve got your own La Brea. Maybe there’s something rising up. Maybe it’s time to clean it off. To look at it. And to remember.