Traveling wildfire

"At times the album seems almost apocalyptic in nature; central songs hover with hands on the lever to the trapdoor of climate and social catastrophe that humanity currently stands heavy over. Happily, though, the one thing that keeps Dom Flemons engaged and inspired is his indelible belief in the magic and wonder of music. It is that spirit which rises to the fore so definitively on this deep, indispensable new album".

Read review

"Calling oneself The American Songster ("since 2009," his website helpfully adds) places one large heap of expectations on the shoulders of the man brave enough to adopt the moniker. But Dom Flemons doesn't carry that nickname out of braggadocio - it's because he's put in the work. His explorations of both American roots music and generations of underreported Black life have revealed an artist who's deeply interested in telling the stories we need to hear, as well as giving us a musician who can play, well, pretty much anything. Flemons' new album, Traveling Wildfire, gives us a few stories about the man himself, one who's confronting the reality that comes from an itinerant musician forced to stay home".

Read review

"All considered, Traveling Wildfire is purposely uneven and seems to be a transitional album or bridge to a new phase where Flemons presents more originals. Whether he continues to integrate this "old and new" approach or decides to surprise us again, we'll be more prepared next time".

Read review