September 19, 2008
By: Matt Driscoll
This week’s lucky CD from my pile is David Bavas’s Songs of Love, Death, and Trains. While it’s an album that’s been out for almost a year, Bavas was kind enough to contact me through Myspace not long ago and offer to send it my way. I figured I’d reciprocate the kindness. There’s at least a decent chance many of you out there in Volcano Land haven’t heard of Bavas yet (though I do believe he recently played in town), and I figured that was as good a reason as any to give Songs of Love, Death, and Trains a spin.
Today was gray. The office was quiet and the mood was sleepy. The entire pace of life seemed slowed, which made for a perfect backdrop to Bavas’s Songs of Love, Death, and Trains.
While it’s not quite wrist-slitting, Songs of Love, Death, and Trains is definitely a sad record. Made up of creeping, pitter-pat indie-alt country numbers that rarely speed past a waltzing pace, Songs of Love is porch sitting music, seemingly made for remorseful recollections of past pain.
As is evident from the very beginning, and especially on the disc’s best track, “Cigarettes and Bourbon,” the subject matter isn’t the only thing that’s dark on this album. Bavas’s voice is equally as shadowy – lying in the reaches of these songs - and his humble, Appalachian born demeanor adds an engaging edge that takes some of the sting out of the heartbreak he sings of.
Bavas’s songs may all be similarly paced, and – for the most part – similarly mired in sorrow, and they might all be built on Bavas’s unassuming voice, the no-hurry beat of country drums and the slow, steady strum of an acoustic guitar, but Travis Hartnett does add some electric guitar swagger to the mix. It’s the rarest of musical tag-teams, as both artists seem to lift each other to a new level. Without Hartnett, Bavas’s music would be noteworthy. With Hartnett, Bavas – and his CD – are the full package.
Songs of Love, Death, and Trains captures a day like today perfectly. It may have been out since last year, but it’s definitely worth your attention right now.

Reel Roots Cafe August 2008
David Bavas is een singer-songwriter uit Seattle, Washington, die opgroeide aan de andere kant van Amerika, namelijk in het berggebied de Appalachen. In 2005 debuteerde David Bavas and the Down Comforter met een titelloos album. Onlangs verscheen de opvolger met de aansprekende titel “Songs Of Love, Death, And Trains”. Het album opent sfeervol met een country-tune vol helder gitaar- en steelwerk. Meteen valt de zachte gebroken stem van David op. Het lijkt net of hij murmelt à la Richard Buckner. Hij is nog net te verstaan in dit mooie liedje “All the Trains” dat vol ‘weltschmerz’ zit. “Julia” is een vrolijke track vol gruizig gitaarwerk. Het mooiste nummer vind ik “If The World”. De intro met violen klinkt –opvallend – bijna net als een van mijn lievelingsliedjes Michael Smith’s “Spoon River”. De beperkte stem van Bavas wordt gecompenseerd door de melodierijke liedjes en de afwisselende muzikale omlijsting. Het met een eenvoudig banjorifje voorziene “Willow Tree” is een juweeltje. Voorts is aangrijpend de fi osoferende song over het leven “Heaven and Hell”. De eerste kennismaking met deze sympathieke troubadour is mij uitstekend bevallen. (Paul Jonker)

David Bavas: Songs of Love, Death, and Trains
By Curt Nichols 5/14/2008
Where do emerging singer-songwriters come from? In the case of David Bavas, the answer is from the Appalachian foothills by way of Seattle.
Bavas's latest CD is his second. And though I missed his self-titled debut in 2005, after hearing Songs of Love, Death, and Trains, I can assure you that you don't want to miss this one.
This CD has 10 tunes; nine that Bavas wrote and one Townes Van Zandt classic. Bavas' cover of "No Lonesome Tune" is a great introduction the Seattle-based singer. It's rare to hear an emerging artist do a rendition of a song that surpasses the original, but Bavas did it.
That track definitely got my attention. Bavas has an expressive voice, a collection of eclectic styles and uses an array of instrumentation. However, that's still just the tip of the iceberg. The weightier element is his songwriting, the constant that ties it all together.
Some of his songs tell dark stories, and like Hank Williams Sr., the tunes on Songs of Love, Death, and Trains are tinged with tears.
The CD opens with "All the Trains," a song of hard luck and heartbreak backed by a plaintive pedal steel.
All the songs on the CD have a timeless quality. They could just as easily have been sung by Woody Guthrie, Jimmy Rogers, Hank Williams Sr. or Johnny Cash. But even though those master storytellers may be gone, Bavas is still singing their songs ... songs of love, death and trains.

David Bavas – Songs of Love, Death, and Trains
Mooi zo’n alleszeggende cd-titel. Als we onze slogan ooit zouden moeten aanpassen dan zouden we makkelijk een porch kunnen zijn voor liedjes over de liefde, de dood en de treinen. David Bavas is een jonge vent die in Seattle woont en een beetje koketteert met zijn afkomst, zijn roots liggen daar waar de roots van veel liedjes over de liefde, de dood en de treinen liggen, namelijk aan de foothills of the Appalachians. Hij komt er mee weg, dat wat hij maakt is inderdaad een kruising die je verwacht, donkere folk met tegendraads gitaarwerk. Richard Buckner en Chris Mills zouden dezelfde achtergrond kunnen hebben. Die zouden No Lonesome Tune, van Townes van Zandt, op eenzelfde manier behandelen. (Patrick Donders)