Artist:     David Haerle

Album:     Death Valley

Label:     Edendale

Release Date:     5.8.2020

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Los Angeles singer/songwriter/guitarist and indie-label owner David Haerle releases his second album, Death Valley, an uneven set of songs, some of which are quite good in a provocative, optimistic way. Even though he comes from a lineage of country music—his maternal grandparents were owners of the first full-time country music radio station in Nashville—he tends to lean toward rock. Twenty-nine years ago, he took over the record company his father started in Los Angeles, now called CMH Label group. Getting a start relatively late in life as a singer-songwriter gives him, in his words, “more life experience to draw on lyrically than I did when I was 20 or even 30. When I was younger, I wanted to sound like my heroes. Now, I want to sound like myself.”

You may have already seen the “Free Show” video that we premiered on these pages in late February. Haerle comments on the indelibly melodic tune, “When my longtime partner Erica sees a sunset or an exquisite cloud formation she’ll say, ‘Look, a free show!’ When we take the time to look around us and really see, we find ourselves surrounded by amazing things.” He goes on the mention the colors of magenta flowers as another example of how nature can be inspiring. Today, more folks than ever may be making similar observations as they escape to various hiking trails and secluded spots during the Coronavirus restrictions.

Another song with a driving rock beat and infectious chorus is “Go Do That With Sharon.” It, too, is getting a buzz through its accompanying video. Haerle adds some perspective, “ …When Erica and I are traveling, say on Interstate 15 and I exclaim, ‘I’d love to go explore that abandoned water park over there, something she has zero interest in, she’ll say ‘go do that with Sharon.’ Even in the best of relationships there will be interests both parties don’t share, so be able to have other friends you can ‘go do that with’ is a healthy thing.” The video starts out as a tongue-in-cheek survey of Erica-disapproved, Sharon-approved adventures spun over a few verses. After the minute-long guitar break, this inside joke comes into more focus, after which the last choruses soar against a “big” instrumental sound. This is a blissful six minutes of rock ‘n’ roll to savor.

While the music is mostly relatively simple in terms of chord structures and predictable riffs, it is generally upbeat, which is something we can use right now.

Other highlights include “Forgiving Myself,” the driving “Tellers,” the myth defying “Self-Made Man,” the title track where he expresses his awe of the locale and the cello to paint totally different colors, and the triumphant instrumental closer “Eureka!, which caps the upbeat nature of the album. Haerle gives you plenty to choose from with 15 tracks. Find your own favorites; this listener found several.

—Jim Hynes