I know I am a month late on this review. Sometimes, I just want to listen to music with no intention of ever sharing my thoughts on it, but the more I listened to “Dreams of the Working Class” by Ryan Adams & The Cardinals, the more I kept thinking about all the wonderful things I felt while listening to the song.

When Ryan is on his own, he is beyond superb, but when he’s with The Cardinals they boost that superbness. The Cardinals bring a deeper emotion to the already cavernous feelings Ryan carries within his lyrics and vocals.

Ryan Adams & The Cardinals haven’t put an album out together since 2010’s III / IV and I was starting to think that the combination was done as Ryan has been pretty busy on his own. In 2022, the man put out 6 albums. 4 were his own material and 2 were cover albums and from his social media posts, it seemed that he had plans for something very similar this year aside from touring his butt off.

So I was thrilled when he announced in March that he and The Cardinals had a new song.

“Dreams of the Working Class” opens with a lovely piano and soft brush strokes on a drum as Ryan’s voice quivers and shakes with appreciation to the dreams of those in the working class. “Dreams of the Working Class” is a beautiful, quiet and sombre ode to those that bust their behinds day in and day out.

Listen to “Dreams of the Working Class” below.

Ryan Adam + The Cardinals are touring in the Summer of 2023 (Northern Hemisphere) with a new lineup featuring Ryan Adams, Brad Pemberton, Chris Stills, Daniel Clarke, and Don Was. You can see those dates here.