David Starr’s new album “Must Be Blue” grabs the genre by the collar, pulls it close, and pours a shot of soul straight into its heart.nWith his signature “Bluesicana” style in full swing, Starr blends gritty blues grooves with rootsy acoustic textures in a familiar and refreshing way. Unlike your dad’s dusty blues collection, it’s alive, crackling with raw emotion, and wrapped in top-shelf musicianship.nFrom the opening track “Hole In The Page,” you’re pulled into Starr’s world of lost love and lyrical ghosts, where melodic guitars and harmonies hum with regret and thumping drums pace the pain like a heartbeat you can’t quite slow down. His voice comes through passionate, almost pleading, but never pitiful—it’s a grown man’s blues, worn in like old boots and just as honest.
Midway through the album, “Listen To The Rain” rides in like a slow train under storm clouds, mixing poetic metaphors with haunting resignation. It’s classic blues storytelling with romance, abandonment, and helplessness in between, carried by a steady beat and drenched in atmosphere. Starr’s imagery is vivid, cinematic even, with thunder, rain, and the whistle of goodbye echoing long after the song ends.
And then there’s “Whipping Post”, the closer, which swaps the electric punch for a stripped, acoustic simmer. It’s weary and weathered, like the final word in an argument you never wanted to have, and Starr leans into that ache with a heavy-lidded vocal that’s all grit and no gloss.
With John Oates lending his voice and a top-tier lineup behind him, “Must Be Blue” stands tall as both a love letter to blues and a bold step forward. Listen to it on Spotify.
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Review by: Naomi Joan