I can’t be sure if the title of this album is a reference to the Dust Bowl era, although anyone will agree that the lyrics certainly slant toward that theme. Nelson certainly has cause for it these days – we’re living in a time that feels like a second coming of the ‘Dirty Thirties’ and these songs of struggle and endurance fit all-too-appropriately.

Dusty Road to Beulah Land is Michigan-born Drew Nelson’s third album. Fittingly, Beulah Land is the name of an old gospel hymn about a land so close to Heaven that, from its highest point, one can see the wonders awaiting him in the afterlife. Paying homage to past struggles and recognizing the hardships many people face today, the album chronicles the lives of those who have had to endure adversity on their way to the spirit world.

Nelson doesn’t attempt to mainstream anything in this album. No rhyming scheme, no obvious chart-topper attempt sandwiched within. Nelson softly strums the chords and lets the words do the work. The genuinely emotional and simple lyrics fall from his mouth like snippets of a diary.

From the struggling farmer watching his livelihood fall under tar and cement to the Native American shown disrespect to the middle-class father taking on any job he can get to keep his family afloat, Nelson’s music tells the sombre stories of the down-trodden. The one track that strikes a resonating chord is “Half A Mile Down.” The subtle echo and acoustic sound mirrors the subject and progression of the track perfectly. It’s one hell of a sad song. “Molly’s Home,” the final track, brings the album to a melancholy end, playing like a funeral march under a grey sky.

Track Listing:

1. Highway 2
2. Waiting for the Sun
3. Stranger
4. Grandmother Moon
5. True and Fine
6. Farmer’s Lament
7. Half A Mile Down
8. Raindance
9. Hello
10. Molly’s Home