Best new music: Thomas Dollbaum’s ‘Dozen Roses’ is a poetic gift

Every week, 88Nine music director Erin Wolf shares a sonic gem she found using her nearly 20 years of new-music exploration experience. You can hear all her discoveries live on 88Nine at 10 p.m. every Monday on What’s All This: Adventures in New Music.

Roots and blues inform the grit-ified rock ‘n’ roll of singer-songwriter Thomas Dollbaum, who makes music out of New Orleans, including this episode’s featured track: “Dozen Roses” from his forthcoming full-length, Birds of Paradise.

The lead single’s visceral quality feels electrified and present, even though it seems to be calling from the depths of some unknown space. There’s a genuineness and raw poetry to “Dozen Roses” that captures the listener from the very first tones and bends of Dollbaum’s guitar. Throughout, one can hear elements of Greg Freeman, Jason Molina and MJ Lenderman. There’s a good reason for that last one, as Lenderman, himself, sits in on drums.

Dollbaum, a graduate student of poetry, is a carpenter by trade and allows both arenas to influence his words and work ethic. He shared that “Dozen Roses” speaks to the idea of “magical thinking” and is rooted in the natural world and the magic it brings.

Birds of Paradise comes out May 22 courtesy of Dear Life Records, and “Dozen Roses” is part of this episode of What’s All This, which is waiting for you in the player at the top of the page. And don’t forget that another new batch of fresh tunes waits for you at 10 p.m. every Monday on 88Nine.

Best new indie music this week

• Fever Ray, “The Lake”
• Mute Swan, “Like a Chump”
• GOON, “Atrium”
• villagerrr, “Locket”
• Aldous Harding, “One Stop”
• Greg Mendez, “I Wanna Feel Pretty”
• cootie catcher, “Loiter for the love of it”
• Motorists, “The Damage”
• Osees, “Joro”
• Telehealth, “Cool Job”
• Marlon Magnée, “Plus fort que toi”
• MEMORIALS, “Dropped Down The Well”
• GUM, “In Life”