​Dean Owens (from the album Spirit Ridge

​Dean Owens (from the album Spirit Ridge

​Dean Owens (from the album Spirit Ridge available on Dean Owens/CRS) (by Lee Zimmerman)

Dean Owens creates what’s often described as a unique blend of Scottish Roots and abject Americana. A rapidly rising star in the UK — he received UK Artist of the Year and UK Album of the Year honours from Americana UK Readers Poll 2022, cited as the UK Artist of the Year in that same poll in 2021, and recognized as the UK Song of the Year Award winner from that same organization in 2019 — he’s only now making his mark Stateside in the US. He’s released a new record every year since 2020, his most recent full-length offering being Pictures, a side project that found him collaborating with Will Kimbrough and Neilson Hubbard, as well as a revisit to his album Whiskey Hearts, which appeared earlier this year. 

The new compilation (of sorts) contains selections from previously released EP’s. Spirit Ridge finds Dean Owens opting for varying moods and melodies, from the emotive strains of “My Beloved Hills” and the mellow sound of “Sinner of Sinners”. The slow stride of “Tame the Lion” as well as the determined drive in the delivery that propels “Light This World”. So too, there’s the steadfast “Spirit of Us”.

As both a sampler for the uninitiated and a necessary acquisition for those who have followed Dean Owens up until now, Spirit Ridge offers every indication his creative impulses show no signs of slowing down. Consider him one to watch. (by Lee Zimmerman)
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