04/16/2026
Dudley's Spotify page is all together now, to quote somebody... (yes, we have the same love-hate relationship with the S-word as you).
It now features the new tune "Spellbound"-- first single from forthcoming album "Beautiful Confusion." Also, the classic album "Doin' Jack," the last of three albums during the band's '90s life, is back after a brief vacation. Listen up, if you have time and the inclination.
Coming soon: "Beautiful Confusion," the long-awaited return of the "cosmic folk rock" band Dudley
We appreciate your ears!
More words...
Dudley Poised for Rebirth with New Album, Beautiful Confusion: First Single, “Spellbound,” Out on the Vernal Equinox
With spring, you get Dudley, making its long-awaited return to musical action with the new, 16-track album Beautiful Confusion. Making its soft release presence known on the Vernal Equinox, March 20th this year, the album joins its older siblings Doin' Jack, Are Our Oars Out? and Public Nudism in the family discography. Out now, the single “Spellbound,” joining the previously-released single “Sad Sad Man” in the “out there” category. The full album drops soon, in digital and CD form.
At the heart of the matter is singer-songwriter Ellen Turner, who teamed up with her pals Tom Lackner (drums), Joe Woodard (guitars) and Chris Symer (bass), when all were in Santa Barbara. Now, Symer is in the northwest and Turner the South, but mileage can't keep them apart.
With the teaser release of its first official single “Spellbound,” Dudley is off to a rocky start. As in leaning towards the rock side of its inter-blended folk-rock-whatever personality. As Turner sings, summing it all up, “pop, light up my mind!”
(“Sad Sad Man” was released late in 2023. Some noticed relevance to Trump in its poetic lyrics.)
On the subject of prior album Doin' Jack, Richard Singer, writing in Option, opined that the sound is “…somewhat playful, folk-tinged, soft-side-of-alternative rock… a welcome break from the self-seriousness exhibited by other female singer/songwriters… intriguing, nightmarish side that peeks out from the lyrics once in awhile…”
Links & infos:
www.householdink.com/dudley
Spotify, Bandcamp, YouTube, Soundcloud
Singles:
“Spellbound,”
YouTube
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0F7p4f374jo
Bandcamp
https://dudleysb.bandcamp.com/track/spellbound
“Sad Sad Man,”
YouTube
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=unio45bNXok
Bandcamp
https://dudleysb.bandcamp.com/edit_album?id=2774718205
The Press Notes
Re: past Dudley albums…
“The colorful, quirky, aqueous cover image on Doin' Jack seems to imply that something just as beguiling lies within the CD’s jewel case. Does it deliver? You betcha... Ellen Turner's floating vocal drawl suggests she is singing an intimate disclosure to the listener. Her voice, paired with the emotional exposure of the lyrics (“I have eyes like yours that look right into me, But mine are not so kind, what do you see in me?” from “Eyes”), conjure a Sunday morning mood: either evoking the euphoria of waking up next to the one you love, or waking up to the emotional wreckage of a lover's revelations from the previous night...” - Deirdre Devers, Splendid e-zine
“Ellen Turner, the primary force behind Dudley, has put together a collection of pop with a relaxing folk undercurrent. Turner's velvety, enveloping voice is reminiscent of Frente!'s Angie Hart in its sweeping sighs. In fact, many moments here recall Frente!, but without their determined quirkiness...every song on the album is quite solid, providing plenty of fine moments. Centering on the well-worn trials of finding/keeping/losing love, the often melancholy but never mawkish tunes highlight Turner's enchanting vocals...” -- rd, Splendid e-zine
Frank Warren of the San Luis Obispo Telegraph-Tribune said of the new album: “the record has moments of country warmth, off-time folk, and some of the most fragile musical moments you will ever hear on tape…this is a group of artists who paint and sculpt brilliant creations for the senses, and when you least expect it, get into your soul.”
Mark Fahey, writing in the Santa Barbara Independent, said: “even as instrumentals, these songs are beautiful, and coupled with Ellen’s voice, it is indeed a rare beauty in this time of loud is more.” In the Santa Barbara News-Press, Steve Libowitz called the album “a treasure trove of poetry and haunting images.”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0F7p4f374jo
https://open.spotify.com/artist/6JIcdMsbHaZzvoM7fmCRlV?si=xdmooeQISNqNW1s4OKWYbQ
Artist · 5 monthly listeners.
