I think it’s rare when someone can look back on their life and point to a single event that made them change course. It’s more likely a series of things building up to something that becomes the proverbial straw. In the case of Californian David Luning, it was having friends turn him on to the music of John Prine. As David puts it, “It made me realize just how powerful the right lyric can be.” He combined that realization along with a period of self-reflection to catalyze his third album, Lessons.
After spending a few years studying film scoring at the Berklee College of Music, you know a few cuts on the record are going to have a soundtrack quality to them. Every Day I Am is a tale of running from your past, “trying to keep on living like a free man”. Down Below is a bluesy number where slide guitar contributes the loneliness and Luning’s vocals the anguish in a tale of regret. Out Of My Head builds on layers of piano and strings to produce an introspective look on the self-doubt and anxiety that can keep a person down.
The highlights of the record come when Luning and producer Damien Lewis strip down the arrangements and focus on a guitar and vocals. Goodnight paints a picture of empty streets at night and, despite the electric guitar (or maybe because of it), conveys a sense of quiet and solitude. The Moon Looks Cool Tonight is about recognizing the best things in life, in this case not being inside for the party but holding hands with your true love in the moonlight. My favorite is You Like the Rain. It’s just David and his acoustic guitar admitting, “I used to hate the rain…I like it now.” The realization that it’s because his girlfriend loves the rain and that’s enough to change his mind makes it the best love song of the year.
David Luning has found much of his commercial success scoring TV shows, from Nashville to Grimm. Those cinematic projects certainly have their strong points, but he turns it up a notch when his lyrics set the stage instead of the actors. That’s readily apparent in his newest album, Lessons. Go find a quiet corner for thirty-six minutes and hear it for yourself.
About the author: I've actually driven from Tehatchapee to Tonopah. And I've seen Dallas from a DC-9 at night.