Singer-songwriters Jolie Holland and Max Knouse’s seven-song Wolf Dispatch pays tribute to iconoclastic folksinger Michael Hurley (1941-2025), a mainstay of the Greenwich Village scene in the 1960s and, decades removed from those halcyon days, a beloved figure within the music community of Portland, Ore., by which time he’d become known as the “godfather of freak folk.” In tandem with the 34-minute EP’s release, the pair are also hitting the road for a short West Coast tour (starting tonight, July 16th) to celebrate his musical legacy; the shows will also feature local musicians as well as Hurley’s friends, collaborators and bandmates.
Holland’s history with Hurley dates to 2003, when a recording engineer gave her one of his albums. She soon found herself obsessed, telling Trailblazer magazine, “All that I listened to for about 10 years was Michael Hurley. Then I went on tour with him a couple times and he opened up for me a few times. I’m on one of his records, Land of Lofi.”
The EP opens with the atmospheric “B Bottom Girl,” recorded by Holland in New York sometime last decade; it has the feel of an old jazz-folk 45 discovered in an overly stuffed record-store rack. (The only thing missing from it are the pops, crackles and snaps of dusty vinyl.) According to the notes she shared on her website, where the CD can be purchased, it’s “a song Hurley asked me to sing. I’m playing it with my NYC band, Adam Brisbin on acoustic guitar and Doug Wieselman on mandolin. I’m on violin and singing. I don’t know if Hurley ever released a version.”
“I Paint by Design,” which she recorded with Max Knouse at her house in L.A., adds a dash of the blues via Holland’s vocal. The sparse “O My Stars” shimmers throughout. Knouse steps to the fore on the title track and “The Vt.-Ore. Floor,” both of which he recorded in Vermont with Shane Kennedy on drums and Walter Stone on bass; Holland later overdubbed her backing vocals and, on the latter song, viola.
“New Tea” is a live recording from Holland’s home, featuring Knouse on guitar and Hannah Marcus on backing vocals and acoustic guitar. In that Trailblazer interview, she says, “It’s very lyrically concise. There are only three verses in it. They’re so spare but it’s a really beautiful description of the present moment and the experience in your mind at the same time. In a sense they feel like classes in haiku. Very masterfully written.”
The EP concludes with a haunting rendition of “Ghost Woman Blues,” a song by George Carter that Hurley covered. Adding to the atmosphere: David Coulter, who played with the Pogues, on musical saw; neighborhood coyotes howling in the background; LAPD helicopters and sirens; and Holland’s whistling.
All in all, Wolf Dispatch is a touching tribute to a legendary songwriter.
(For good and ill, as the lack of YouTube clips above indicates, the EP is only available for purchase—and only from Holland’s website…and merch table.)
The Old Grey Cat 