Jim Duff “More than Love” (LP)

Jim Duff’s new musical project is titled More than Love, a sort of auditory love letter to times of old, a sense of community oft lost, and a sense of almost melancholic nostalgia. Listening to a Duff record doesn’t qualify as an easy listen, but rather firmly planting you in the venue of singer-songwriter. The songs while harmonious and soulful aren’t designed to be perfect or catchy, but like masters before Duff to reflect a time and place, planting a narrative in the listener’s mind as much as a melody.

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The album cover of More than Love shows three children running in a field, a quintessential American image reflective of Duff’s penchant for keen hooks, accompanied by dream-like, sentimental strumming on an acoustic guitar. Duff’s voice is off-putting, deliberately so, communicating deeply sentimental stanzas with this caustic, uncanny baritone. Music critic Lauren Hayes of Quiet Coast describes this well, highlighting Duff’s voice matching the power of his lyricism. “The backdrop to all of this is impossible to ignore,” she states.

“Duff has been fighting stage four cancer while continuing to write, record, and release music with full commitment. That reality doesn’t demand sympathy from the listener. It simply adds another layer to music that was already running deep. This writer found the title track to be one of the most quietly powerful songs heard in a long time, the kind that doesn’t announce itself but stays with you long after it ends. More Than Love is the kind of project that makes you stop scrolling and just listen.”

This writer concurs. More than Love in particular reminds me of something that I’d been missing. Writing from an undisclosed location in eastern Nashville, the songs compliment the world around me – warm spring nights, people dancing on porches, a sense of vibrant community in an era when we’re told there’s more different than alike. In some ways, the work on Mr. Duff’s new album feels at its core like a simple plea for the listener to come home. To come back to something simpler, more wholesome. More human, really. The idea that he’s created this while in the midst of something intensely personal, and challenging, adds a haunting emotive heft to the work. In some ways, the context of Mr. Duff’s personal life in relation to the digital record adds to the showcasing of his intrinsic talents. It gives the listener more time to really appreciate, remaining hooked, on each of the lyrics, each of the strums, the immaculate sound design, and the effective mixing of Duff’s vocals gracing each of the tracks.

It’s not often that I listen to something like More than Love, and it’s not often that I actually feel nourished by something qualifying as entertainment. But Mr. Duff has won my appreciation in every sense of the word. He’s made me come home. There’s no sense of any musical manipulation or sentimental strong-arming, just straight truths played out in a record that hopefully gets its due upon release.

Mark Druery