North Dakota on the Mind

For many people who leave their hometown to start anew, the nostalgia and appreciation for it only comes after they've been away for a time. Such an experience is what inspired a series of musical snapshots imprinted on folk singer and songwriter Tom Brosseau's new album, "What I Mean to Say is Goodbye."

Born and raised in North Dakota, Brosseau moved to California after college and first settled in San Diego before becoming a permanent Los Angeles resident.

"The long and short of it was that I had never seen the ocean, and it was such a thrill to come out here and live near it," remembered Brosseau as to the reason he migrated to California. "All my family, they all play music on both sides. I think everyone plays music back in North Dakota, it's such a tradition."

The instrumentation, stark and spare, is set under Brosseau's delicate and gentle voice, and makes every song richly beautiful, informing the listener about the kind of poignancy and emotion that is possible in simple music. In true Bob Dylan fashion, Brosseau's lyrics take center stage like a symphonic poem. It's American folk music at its best and every song is worth one's quiet and relaxing Sunday afternoon time.

"To me, people like Bob Dylan and Leonard Cohen are first and foremost writers, they are observers, and so I think it's very important to read and sing other people's work, so I've always had great passion for reading," said Brosseau.

Brosseau's lyrics range from loneliness on the road to the poetic beauty of North Dakota in the winter and the thrill of new romance.

"The first song is like little anecdotes of North Dakota and one of the lines deals with the flood of 1997," said Brosseau in his soft-spoken and welcoming voice. "It can be hard sometimes because you want to make a song sound personal but at the same time you want other people to be able to identify with it,"

Sam Jones, who produced the Wilco documentary "I Am Trying to Break Your Heart," also produced Brosseau's album. Brosseau is also a regular guest artist at the local hot spot Largo. Several guest musicians sat in on the album with the 28-year-old Brosseau including Benmont Tench of Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, harmonium and piano; Sara Watkins and Gabe Witcher of Nickel Creek, violin; and Elvis Costello's drummer, Pete Thomas, accounts for the songs' percussion. L.A. musician Jon Brion accompanies Brosseau on the guitar for the song "St. Joe St."

"My friend John Doe calls my work prog-rock. I think the songwriter I am is that I concentrate on the story first and I'm not too concerned about structure, but more so about meter," said Brosseau. "So in the end I think it's kind of progressive, so, who knows, maybe I'm starting a new genre: prog-folk."