For more than three decades, Laurelyn Dossett has quietly established herself as one of the most respected songwriting voices in roots music while helping shape the creative fabric of North Carolina’s Americana scene. “Believe Me,” the latest single from her long-awaited solo debut, is vintage Dossett—devastating in its intimacy and simplicity. The track is produced by Hiss Golden Messenger’s M.C. Taylor, who’s understated arrangement brings worn-in tenderness to lyrics that negotiate the terrifying leap that authentic commitment requires.
“So it turns out that sometimes it just doesn’t matter how big you love or how well you love—the beloved has to believe it,” says Dossett.
“Believe Me” serves as a fitting entry point to How Many Moons (Sycamore Road), due August 28. The LP was produced by Taylor, who also sings and plays on the album, along with a talented cast of collaborators that includes Rhiannon Giddens, Charly Lowry, fiddler Stephanie Coleman and sacred steel player DaShawn Hickman. They all tag along as Dossett moves fluidly between country, folk, gospel, jazz and Appalachian traditions.
And, honestly, it’s about time Dossett made an album for herself. Over the years, she’s collaborated with the North Carolina Symphony, toured alongside Giddens and composed extensively for theater productions rooted in Southern folklore and Appalachian storytelling. Her song “Anna Lee” was covered by Levon Helm on his Grammy-winning 2007 LP, Dirt Farmer. Five years later, another of her tunes became the title track for Leaving Eden, the final album from Giddens’ acclaimed African-American string band, the Carolina Chocolate Drops.
And while “Believe Me” resonates like the work of a veteran songwriter, it also carries a certain wide-eyed curiosity.
“I’ve jokingly called this the saddest song I’ve ever written,” Dossett says. “But really, for me it’s about the ‘what if?’ What if we dared to love and be loved? I think it’s hopeful.”
—Hobart Rowland
See Laurelyn Dosset live.
