Benjamin Tod & Lost Dog Street Band

Overview

After dark country trio Lost Dog Street Band released its 2022 album Glory, bandleader Benjamin Tod decided it was time to retire the project. Tod, alongside his wife Ashley Mae (fiddle), had been working together as a band since 2011. “I came to terms with letting go of Lost Dog completely, which is how I evaluate a lot of things in general,” explains Tod. “Oftentimes when I’m trying to make a really hard decision, I go ahead and go through the process of mourning its death and accepting that I am going to lose it.” But just a month after recording a solo project in January of 2023, Tod felt an urge to revisit the project one more time.

“I thought I was done with Lost Dog, but after recording my solo album, I looked over all the songs that I had ready for a new record. These were songs for my band. I had to admit to myself that I wasn’t done with Lost Dog.” That energy is infectious throughout the album, beginning with opener “Brighter Shade.” Guitar melodies interlock with Ashley Mae’s fiddle line, providing plenty of room for a staggering mandolin part and shuffling drums. “Each day I love you more,” Tod croons, singing to his wife. “I could leave but some part of me would stay,” he adds, before concluding, “And only I can love you like I do, and you dare to trade it all for a brighter shade of blue.”

Though there was heartbreak at the prospect of the project coming to an end, its resurrection has meant all the more in this new context. “I definitely felt a good amount of grief and sadness that it was going to come to a close. I resisted, but then I accepted that it was going to come to a close,” explains Ashley Mae. “Seeing it reinvigorated in a completely different spirit and light is very exciting.”