Cory Dauber returns to Deeper Well Records with “May All Times Go To You,” his long awaited follow up to his much loved debut, “Turn Into A Mountain”. Like his first album, Cory again turns images from scripture into vivid metaphors of yearning faith. Stepping back from a full Americana feel, on this record Cory achieves a more laid-back, folk-forward sound. Inspired by artists like Damien Jurado, Jim James, and George Harrison, the album was recorded mostly live and produced by Evan Thomas Way of The Parson Red Heads. Cory is accompanied by Eric Earley of Blitzen Trapper (whose finger-picked guitar winds its way across the songs), Luke Price (whose fiddle anchors the album’s acoustic-folk feel), Michael Blake (whose work on the piano and Rhodes grounds the music), and the harmonies of Rachael Price and Chelsea Furumasu. The result is a lush and open album, with space for Cory’s lyrics to linger.

Cory’s songwriting resists the well-worn cliches that are so common in songs of faith. Instead, he dwells on uncommon images sourced from scripture. These images make the songs graspable, allowing them to become prayers to borrow and make our own. In “Turn Into a Mountain II”, Cory’s desire for the mountain of the Lord is intertwined with his doubt over the small size of that mountain’s origin. Doubt and desire intersect like the plucked violin and finger-picked guitar which accompany his ardent vocals. In “All Times”, Cory explores three incidents from the life of Christ, turning them into a prayer that “all times go to you”. Cory’s yearning voice is accompanied only by a Fender Rhodes, underscoring the song’s earnest simplicity. Often Cory distills these images to simple phrases which linger in our ears and imaginations. “Just One Thing” begins as an intimate conversation between father and son on what it means to learn to love, before becoming a heartfelt cry for that same love in his own life.

Cory draws both himself and his listeners into a spirit of prayer and contemplation, turning away from a shallow life that dwells on the surface. Instead, Cory confronts life’s trials and traumas, tapping into a bedrock of genuine emotions. Yet despite this honesty, Cory’s undergirds his songs with genuine faith in the goodness of God which shines through the confusion of our days. As he sings on “All Times”, Cory believes that God has “saved the best for last”. Because of God’s discernible love for us, the future deserves our anticipation. This confidence propels the record, giving it an uplifted momentum and a warmth rooted in hope. Like its cover art, the album is light-soaked and expectant. For those with faint hearts and weary faith, “May All Times Go To You” provides words and images which reorient towards the promise of hope. (by Daniel Melvill Jones)