After releasing a slew of enticing singles, alternative southern rock artist Dusty Bo finally cut loose his much-anticipated debut album, The Vulture & The Fox, on January 6th.
With Bo’s exceptional lyrical storytelling, the 12-song album chronicles a concept story of a gunfighter that migrates to the Wild West during the American Frontier.
Hailing from Derby City, Kentucky, Bo made his way to Los Angeles to pursue his passions as one does, eventually selling out notable venues in Hollywood and recording at sought-after studios. He now has accumulated over 112,500 streams on Spotify, with 62,000 listeners, and over 1,000 playlist adds, and those numbers continue to grow with the release of The Vulture & The Fox.
Originally released as two separate EPs that landed Bo recognition in many notable publications, Vulture was a collection of four songs centered around a gunfighter getting caught up in a troubled life, whereas Fox was centered around love and settling down. Now, combined as one full-length album, the story is woven together seamlessly.
Largely driven by Bo’s electrifying guitar playing, The Vulture & The Fox is reminiscent of 70s and 80s hard rock, with injections of blues and plenty of 90s alt-rock throughout. (i.e. Stone Temple Pilots)
The album opens with the sultry track, “On With The Ride”, full of spoken poetry building up into a powerful rock crescendo. More notable moments occur with Bo’s powerful vocals during the captivating rock anthem, “Bandit,” and the catchy number, “Throw It All Away”. The track “How Could We Go Wrong” offers an uplifting testament to how one should pursue happiness.
The album also includes slower moments of romance, nostalgia, and yearning. In the six-minute epic, “No One Else”, Bo shows the softer side of his voice, crooning about devotion to a love interest. Another romantic sentiment occurs during “All I Can Dream”, with lyrics like, “I’ve played some big stages / Made some big wages / Seen more than most will see / And darling right here with you is all I can dream”.
The album ends on a somber note with, “Words Don’t Mean Much”. Comparing the end of a relationship to also the end of practicing religion, Bo is brutally honest with his songwriting, tying the concept album together with a bow.
Overall, The Vulture & The Fox is an album that touches on the vast and complex human experience as a whole. Dusty Bo is just getting started, and as his fiery song “Ready” suggests- “Get ready for the show.”
