Album Notes

Dave Derby and the Norfolk Downs is the second solo album from prolific New York City songwriter Dave Derby. Having spent previous years and previous lives in many different and influential incarnations - lead vocalist and bassist with seminal 90s Boston art-indie band the Dambuilders, Lloyd Cole collaborator & member of the Negatives, musical director and band leader of comedian Sarah Silverman’s band The Silver Men, co-writer & guitarist for NYC pop band Mascott, and leader of the criminally obscure Brilliantine – he’s been making incredible music for years. And now he returns to the fore with … And the Norfolk Downs, the outstanding follow-up to his 2003 Badman Recordings debut album Even Further Behind. … And the Norfolk Downs continues in the same vein as Even Further Behind with understated pop hooks, sophisticated wordplay and the pure melodic intelligence Derby is known for. However, the aural spectrum has been further widened for this record; from the raging rockist histrionics of “Even in Darkness” and “Olivine,” to the mellow beauty of “You Got to Go” and the wistful “Never Leave,” … And the Norfolk Downs is the pure sound of a gifted pop writer not afraid to push back against a fucked-up world. Produced and mixed by Derby, … And the Norfolk Downs features “Oh True,” a not-to-be-missed collaboration by Derby, Lloyd Cole and Jill Sobule. Another standout track is the gritty & gorgeous “Overnight Low,” detailing the recent death of a childhood friend. The album is chock full of performances by long-time collaborators, friends and bandmates including: Joan Wasser (Joan As Police Woman), Kevin March (Guided By Voices, Shudder to Think) Lloyd Cole, Jill Sobule, Chris Brokaw (Come, Codeine, Consonant) and flugelhornist Marc Capelle (American Music Club). When we asked Derby what influenced this album most, he sums it up with: “Tusk, Ooh La La, On the Beach, Agents of Fortune & Re-reading Crazy from the Heat)” http://www.davederby.com http://www.myspace.com/davederby