Dietrich Strause was a musician long before I met him. He'd been playing trumpet with various jazz band across central Pennsylvania for years before our paths ever crossed. That crossroads occurred not over jazz, but an acoustic soul band with three-part harmony and not in a jazz bar, but in one of my favorite pubs. I was in attendance at the behest of one of the bartenders, and as Dieter and his band were playing, I leaned across the bar and whispered words which would start a pretty lasting relationship, "That little guy can play a mean guitar."

Dozens of shows and several years later, Dieter earned his degree from Oberlin which put him in the same company as Josh Ritter, and left Lancaster for Boston. I packed up myself and headed south. But thankfully, Dieter's put together a solo, self-titled album - something that allows both of us to keep Lancaster on our minds.

Dieter's record is sparse, showing a very deft touch, which often drifts towards the ethereal or haunted. For a man so young, the only reasonable explanation is a singer-songwriter steeped in duende. And it's an album the perfectly captures Lancaster, Pennsylvania - a city with equal numbers of churches, bars, and art galleries. Dietrich Strause's self-titled debut is a brilliant construct.

And I'm giving it away. Please, feel free to download this wonderful bit of artistry, pass it around to your friends. Spread the album around. Enjoy it for what it is: light and haunted in equal breaths.

Proudly presenting Dietrich Strause - Dietrich Strause