Dudley
Dudley linx:
the albums:
doin’ jack to buy 
Are Our Oars Out? to buy 
Public Nudism to buy
“Jazzy acoustic finger picking and a little brushed snare back up Ellen Turner’s hazy, hushed vocals through light, breezy songs, best described with adjectives like plush, nice, deluxe, yummy and delightful.” –from www.listen.com blurb
Dudley was/is a indie-art-folk-pop entity, built around the hard-to-define, easy-to-love music of singer-songwriter Ellen Turner. For years, it was a Santa Barbara-based band, and Ellen was backed by guitarist Joe Woodard, bassist Chris Symer, and drummer Tom Lackner. They’re prone to describe their music as “quirky” and “heartfelt.” Dudley has three albums to show for the effort, doin’ jack (1998), Are Our Oars Out? (1996), and their debut, Public Nudism (1994).
The long-awaited and long-labored-over fourth album, Beautiful Confusion, was released in 2026, kicked off by the first single “Spellbound”–released on the Vernal Equinox, March 20. Dudley is back.
This Just In:
Dudley Poised for Rebirth with New Album, Beautiful Confusion: First Single, “Spellbound,” Out on the Vernal Equinox
With spring, you get Dudley, making its long-awaited return to musical action with the new, 16-track album Beautiful Confusion. Making its soft release presence known on the Vernal Equinox, March 20th this year, the album joins its older siblings Doin’ Jack, Are Our Oars Out? and Public Nudism in the family discography. Out now, the single “Spellbound,” joining the previously-released single “Sad Sad Man” in the “out there” category. The full album drops soon, in digital and CD form.
At the heart of the matter is singer-songwriter Ellen Turner, who teamed up with her pals Tom Lackner (drums), Joe Woodard (guitars) and Chris Symer (bass), when all were in Santa Barbara. Now, Symer is in the northwest and Turner the South, but mileage can’t keep them apart.
With the teaser release of its first official single “Spellbound,” Dudley is off to a rocky start. As in leaning towards the rock side of its inter-blended folk-rock-whatever personality. As Turner sings, summing it all up, “pop, light up my mind!”
(“Sad Sad Man” was released late in 2023. Some noticed relevance to Trump in its poetic lyrics.)
On the subject of prior album Doin’ Jack, Richard Singer, writing in Option, opined that the sound is “…somewhat playful, folk-tinged, soft-side-of-alternative rock… a welcome break from the self-seriousness exhibited by other female singer/songwriters… intriguing, nightmarish side that peeks out from the lyrics once in awhile…”
Links & infos:
www.householdink.com/dudley
Dropbox link (with wav and mp3 files of “Spellbound” and “Sad Sad Man”)
Spotify, Bandcamp, YouTube, Soundcloud
Singles: “Spellbound,” YouTube link, Bandcamp here
“Sad Sad Man,” YouTube link, Bandcamp here
The Press Notes
Re: past Dudley albums…
“The colorful, quirky, aqueous cover image on Doin’ Jack seems to imply that something just as beguiling lies within the CD’s jewel case. Does it deliver? You betcha… Ellen Turner’s floating vocal drawl suggests she is singing an intimate disclosure to the listener. Her voice, paired with the emotional exposure of the lyrics (“I have eyes like yours that look right into me, But mine are not so kind, what do you see in me?” from “Eyes”), conjure a Sunday morning mood: either evoking the euphoria of waking up next to the one you love, or waking up to the emotional wreckage of a lover’s revelations from the previous night…” – Deirdre Devers, Splendid e-zine
“Ellen Turner, the primary force behind Dudley, has put together a collection of pop with a relaxing folk undercurrent. Turner’s velvety, enveloping voice is reminiscent of Frente!’s Angie Hart in its sweeping sighs. In fact, many moments here recall Frente!, but without their determined quirkiness…every song on the album is quite solid, providing plenty of fine moments. Centering on the well-worn trials of finding/keeping/losing love, the often melancholy but never mawkish tunes highlight Turner’s enchanting vocals…” — rd, Splendid e-zine
Frank Warren of the San Luis Obispo Telegraph-Tribune said of the new album: “the record has moments of country warmth, off-time folk, and some of the most fragile musical moments you will ever hear on tape…this is a group of artists who paint and sculpt brilliant creations for the senses, and when you least expect it, get into your soul.”
Mark Fahey, writing in the Santa Barbara Independent, said: “even as instrumentals, these songs are beautiful, and coupled with Ellen’s voice, it is indeed a rare beauty in this time of loud is more.” In the Santa Barbara News-Press, Steve Libowitz called the album “a treasure trove of poetry and haunting images.”
go to bandcamp to decamp in Dudley land…
Dudley, doin’ jack
(CD) HI-123, 1998= $12 (postage paid)
“The colorful, quirky, aqueous cover image on Doin’ Jack seems to imply that something just as beguiling lies within the CD’s jewel case. Does it deliver? You betcha… Ellen Turner’s floating vocal drawl suggests she is singing an intimate disclosure to the listener. Her voice, paired with the emotional exposure of the lyrics (“I have eyes like yours that look right into me, But mine are not so kind, what do you see in me?” from “Eyes”), conjure a Sunday morning mood: either evoking the euphoria of waking up next to the one you love, or waking up to the emotional wreckage of a lover’s revelations from the previous night…”
–Deirdre Devers, Splendid e-zine, 11-1-99
songs: 1. Pearl Diving (mp3) 2. Luring Him OM (mp3) 3. Unrequited Triangle 4. Eyes 5. Down Comfort 6. Cult of Inspiration 7. Rain 8. Alan 9. Larry Magdalene 10. Saved My Soul 11. Dusty Lungs for the Experience 12. Prince Charming (mp3) 13. End
(secret track: Everybody’s Talkin’ mp3)
DUDLEY:
Ellen Turner: songs, voice, guitar/Joe Woodard: guitar/Tom Lackner: drums/Chris Symer: bass
Guests: Bruce Winter: recorders, organ, so-called “clavinet” (“Pearl Diving,” “Allan”) Sally Barr, violin (“Luring Him Om”) Nate Birkey, trumpet (“Prince Charming”) Jennifer Terran, vocals (“Prince Charming”)
Produced by Wayne Sabbak and Dudley, Recorded and mixed by Wayne Sabbak at Riviera Studios, Santa Barbara, CA, Except “Dusty Lungs for the Experience,” recorded by Robinson Eikenberry on Montgomery Street, All songs by Ellen Turner, Copyright 1998, Do Right Music
(“secret” track: “Everybody’s Talkin'” mp3, an outtake from Dudley, doin’ jack…)
Dudley, Are Our Oars Out
(CD) HI-115, 1995= $12 (postage paid)
SONGS:
- Her Own Nightmare (mp3)2.. Perpetual Thought3. Maybe It’s Time (mp3) 4. Bodhi 5. Desert Rain 6. Strong Medicine (mp3) 7. Strange Land 8. Are Our Oars Out? 9. At the Altar 10. To the Three Musket Eaters 11. Big Plans (mp3) 12. Love is Here to Stay 13. Death is a Quality of Life
All songs by Ellen Turner
Richard Singer, writing in Option, opined that the sound is “…somewhat playful, folk-tinged, soft-side-of-alternative rock… a welcome break from the self-seriousness exhibited by other female singer/songwriters… intriguing, nightmarish side that peeks out from the lyrics once in awhile…”
Frank Warren of the San Luis Obispo Telegraph-Tribune said of the new album: “the record has moments of country warmth, off-time folk, and some of the most fragile musical moments you will ever hear on tape…this is a group of artists who paint and sculpt brilliant creations for the senses, and when you least expect it, get into your soul.”
Mark Fahey, writing in the Santa Barbara Independent, said: “even as instrumentals, these songs are beautiful, and coupled with Ellen’s voice, it is indeed a rare beauty in this time of loud is more.” In the Santa Barbara News-Press, Steve Libowitz called the album “a treasure trove of poetry and haunting images.”
Dudley, Public Nudism 
(CD) HI-107, 1993= $12 (postage paid)
(Cassette) $7 (postage paid)
Public Nudism, a popular song cycle originally released in 1994 on cassette-only and now available on CD, was the debut album by the unique art-pop-folk group from Santa Barbara group known as Dudley. It began as a solo project by singer-songwriter Ellen Turner, and the group�guitarist Joe Woodard, drummer Tom Lackner, and bassist Chris Symer–formed around the recording project.
“Ellen Turner, the primary force behind Dudley, has put together a collection of pop with a relaxing folk undercurrent. Turner’s velvety, enveloping voice is reminiscent of Frente!’s Angie Hart in its sweeping sighs. In fact, many moments here recall Frente!, but without their determined quirkiness…every song on the album is quite solid, providing plenty of fine moments. Centering on the well-worn trials of finding/keeping/losing love, the often melancholy but never mawkish tunes highlight Turner’s enchanting vocals…” — rd, Splendid e-zine
SONGS:
1.Highway 2. Butterfly Kiss (mp3) 3. He Sees Angels 4. The Sentiment’s the Same 5. Romeo (mp3) 6. Closer 7. Single Light 8. Carrying a Weight 9. Obsessed with Happiness (mp3) 10. Lovelorn Waif 11. Sad Wonder 12. Stay Awhile 13. Feardom (mp3)
All songs by Ellen Turner
to order HI products, head over to the Productspage, or Discogs (or Amazon if you have to).
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