First Listen is a feature where we sit back in a dark room, put our headphones on and push play while regurgitating our immediate feelings & emotions to a piece of work.

Jesse Appelman’s “Where We Go” was an out of left field record that landed in my lap. Upon seeing the shared friends and juggernauts of modern acoustic music lining the…liner notes…I put it on the ‘must dig in’ list and so, here we go.

The record leads in with a self proclaimed “joyful fiddle tune” that serves to give us a proper introduction to what’s to come. And joyful it is. Bouncy and rolling. There is something to be said about the familiarity that darts across your auditory periphery (particularly when it’s an original composition). But, it’s that familiarity and comfort that invites you inside to stay a while. The passing around of the melody giving us the vibe of a well polished campfire jam, but without the bug spray and smoke in your eyes. There is something really uplifting and rousing as the instruments come back together. 

Appelman manages to blend influence and his own voice together seamlessly, weaving back and forth into traditional songs (well known and not so universally known) and his own tunes with an ease and flow that emulates the relaxed patter in his voice on “The Hills of Isel Au Haut”. But they feel so right next to one another. We then dive back into another Appelman original with “Liminal Criminal” (what a name, right?). A minor keyed instrumental that would feel at home on a John Reischman record, with apt energy and vibrancy to keep you hanging on each note.

As much as the odes to his influence are wonderful, its Appelman’s original compositions that shine for me here. I find myself drawn to them in a beautiful way. “Lyell Fork”, being one that forces me into a daydream, eyes half closed and swaying my head to and fro. Not sleepy, but with that same casual, but confident, relaxed state of being.

The musicality here is top notch. The production values feeling organic and alive. And the flow state of the entire record is one that begs you to sit down, turn the lights down low and play the whole things strong.

Something old and something new. It doesn’t really matter. Instrumental tunes intermingling with lyrical songs and gang choruses that feed the energetic movement and flow of the collective recording, like a steady stream through rolling hills and bright sun days. Rich and full and well, just feel good. It feels like my favorite set at a summer bluegrass festival that meets the road between the main stage and the late night campfire. That in between space between life and the weekend escape. A place I yearn for all year long and now I can live it through Jesse Appelman’s “Where We Go”.

“Where We Go” is releasing on February 20th. You can hit up Jesse’s Bandcamp to get in the know, listen to the current 3 released singles and get the record as soon as it drops.

My wife and I have begun to listen to records on the weekends over coffee and tea. The intentionality of which is something long overstated by many others aside from me. It’s all just to say, I need more from my listening experiences nowadays. I want music to move me in certain ways and for records to take me on a journey rather than just be playing in the background.

I’ve said many things about Ethan Setiawan’s work in the past. Ranging from utilizing words like “virtuosic” to being like a “…master painter. The 8 strings of his mandolin as his brush…”. All of those things ring true on his latest effort, but there is something so intensely personal about this project that seeps deep into the listening experience and takes you for that journey that you are looking for.

There is such a sense of exploration and deep appreciation for the mandolin in this project. A culmination of years and years of long labored practice and influence by mentors and peers. The first two tracks off the record being collaborations with heroes for many of us.

“Forecast” featuring Matt Flinner, is a delicate and flowy dance between two mandolins. The interchange between melody and chording ever so intertwined, almost becoming one. Dueling mandolins at their best can be transformative and at their worst can be…well, lets not go there, but just say that it’s an easy dynamic to get wrong.. Ethan and Matt take the potential of the instruments together to soaring heights.

The depth by contrast of Setiawans’ collaboration with Joe K. Walsh on “Mount Holly” is immersive and resonant and magnetic. It pulls you down into the warmth and playfulness of the mandola and octave mandolin. Having been very accustomed to mandolin family instrumental work from both them, its exciting to see this choice for the two of them. That journey aspect of music rears its head again. Winding roads, ups and downs and corners that resolve themselves in moments of reprieve and beautiful sonic overlooks.

I would be remiss if I didn’t say it brings me back to my earliest memories of loading tapes into my walkman and dazing out behind my headphones, unfurling the insert to read liner notes and quips from artists. This is a veritable catalog of mandolin greatness. A capsule containing notes about microphones and instruments and those little chestnuts details of how songs came to be. You can check all of that out on Ethan’s website right now.

When entertainment news is bombarded by Spotify execs bankrolling genocidal war machines and AI bands taking over the airwaves, this is what we need. Music that harkens back to the heart of why we create music in the first and why we fall in love with melody and song. This record is why I love music.

Pre-order Encyclopedia Mandolinnica today from Bandcamp.

Billboard premiered “Chicken Dinner” off Blue Mesa and you should check out the story behind this really fun, uptempo rock tune. He co-wrote the song with the late blues singer Lissa Driscoll, to whom he has dedicated Blue Mesa. I love the horns on this tune, too–they add so much texture and muscle and let Winslow-King just have fun.

Photo by John Gessner

There is something so authentic, raw and untroubled about her delivery of each tune on this record. Seemingly ok with heartache and despair, or at least accepting that its part of being human. A deadpan delivery and a break in her voice that could collapse mountains with its benevolence, that even when she sings the most scathing of her lyrics, a certain vulnerability and realness seeps through in the sickly sour taste of whiskey mixed with coffee after a rugged night on each breath.

Rather than continue on with “Shook is a bit of this and a bit of that”, its more accurate to say that she straddles the lines between genre, influence and even gender paradigms as some of the narratives seem to come from what would traditionally be a male point of view in this kind of music, and she delivers that point of view to great effect. As she sings each word of these stories, with all the conviction in the world, its not necessarily about ‘who is telling the story vs who it is about’, as much as it is about just how well it is written and how much persuasion the teller of it has over its listener. She never misses a beat and in actuality, the ability of a songwriter to put themselves in another character’s shoes and have the confidence to deliver the story as if it was them behind those eyes, well thats a rare gift and Sarah Shook has that gift by the truckload full.

Every so often a song is veritable gut punch and, for whatever reason, it resonates in ways that other songs simply cannot touch. “Good as Gold” had that effect on me the first time I spun through ‘Years‘ and after listen upon listen of this album, it still sticks with me in some uncanny way. Its not necessarily that the song’s context is particularly sad or that the arrangement is filled with weeping strings and melancholia, but the delivery of each note and word is just so genuine and, in a way contains a sense of surrender, that I relate on some different level to Shook’s story.

I’m afraid of losin’, losin’ everything to you,
My heart, my pride, the wreck inside.
Nothin’ on this jukebox ‘cept the blues.

And that chorus is inflicted in a fashion that is a juxtaposed “rip your heart from your chest” despondency, that you cannot help but feel the pain and light injected into the lines.

Baby, if you go it’s over for good
And I’m as good as gone.
No, it won’t be long ‘til the wrong song comes on
At the right time.

You’re as good as gold.
I’m as good as gone.

Sonically the record is dust kicked, steel crying perfection. The band’s chops and ability leaves an insatiable hunger for a listener’s ears to listen on repeat. Instrumentally, this is what every country infused record should strive to. Flawless execution while retaining all the heart and emotion that is needed to stand toe to toe with Shook’s lyrics. So is the case with “New Ways To Fail“. The band takes the notion of a rock n’ roll, shit kicker and intermingles with the necessity for a songwriter to find the catharsis in pouring their emotion and pain into a song. Here is where the band proves that party music can be pensive and just because you need to expel some demons doesn’t mean it has to be a downtrodden minor keyed downer of a tune and by the second chorus you will be singing along with “‘Cause I need this shit like I need another hole in my head.“

‘Bottle Never Lets Me Down‘ further dwells on the things that we carry on our backs and is incredibly introspective and self-aware while taking an outlook that can still make you want to move across the dance floor. A spooky, True Detective-esque vibe coats the arrangement like a dark syrupy sepia toned cover-up. Noir and filled with trepidation. As Shook declares “Every night I sit ‘til sunup drinkin’ And every day I wait for night to fall So I can clear the darkest memories from my recollection And hear no sounds and feel nothing at all.” with a howl, its a cautious declaration about falling down that hole, that leads to a hole in the wall dive in towns across the country. Also serving as another prime example of how the songwriter can impart herself into the narratives of characters in the songs. Singing “Make me feel the man I used to be.” with a discerning quality of truth and confidence.

Another standout is the mournful and longing impact of “Heartache in Hell“. That feeling creeps back in. This one hits me the hardest. The cascading of drums and bass as the chorus section concludes and the break in Sarah Shook’s voice that sends chills down my spine. The detachment and somewhat monotone delivery coupling with some pretty heavy shit embedded in the words. A less attentive listener may take it for granted, but when you let that feeling, the sounds, the deep emotion in the song wash over you, it pays you back in spades.

Front to back “Years” is a kick in the teeth, rambunctious ride of a record with glimmering heartfelt moments of vulnerability alongside cutting authenticity and unapologetic candor. Without a doubt, one of the best records that 2018 will see.

Wilkins voice and writing are at their zenith here and on display, fully. The confidence and grace that he sinks into the sadness and vulnerability of these ten tracks is true beauty, longing and susceptibility. A guitar, a voice and a room are the only variables in the recorded works here. As consequence, words cut swifter and deeper and emotion seeps even further into the listening experience. The sparsity manages to play into the complexity and dim light and whispy smoke encircles my head as I close my eyes and listen. Joshua’s delivery of occasionally barbed and piercing are just as often pointed back at himself as they are at his story’s antagonist. The effect is a collection of tunes, incredibly self reflective and internalizing. Brooding on occasion, self deprecating even but the self awareness and introspection of the songwriter’s protagonist is portrayed brilliantly in these songs.

light up those late night cigarettes, I know they kill but I ain’t dead yet

and pass around another bottle of wine, light up those late night cigarettes

In a time and place where even the good songs seem to be ever embellished with weeping pedal steel and ripping tele solos, Joshua Black Wilkins reminds us that the only production a great song needs is a guitar, a story and the ability of an artist to bleed themselves into their words in a way that makes you weather their pain, their joy and their humanity. 

Failing is a multi instrumentalist and singer-songwriter in his own right as well. Earlier this year he released “Calling My Trouble By Name” and this week it is our featured album of the week. Failing succeeds tremendously in an environment where we sometimes see a lot of young artists fail, managing to take traditions and blend them with virtuosic contemporary playing the elevates the genre while paying respect to what came before.

As you will see in the video, the bluegrass community is a strong supporter of “getting by with a little help from your friends” and a few familiar faces are in this take of Billy’s “So Many Miles” with John Mailander on fiddle and aforementioned Mr. Billy Strings on acoustic guitar. The tune itself has a very traditional feel and Failing’s vocal lends itself beautifully to the genre. Simple but strong. 

Check it out below and be sure to pick up “Calling My Trouble By Name” if you are looking for some new music to scratch your contemporary bluegrass itch.

“We all feel immensely fortunate to be in this band together,” says I’m With Her. “As longtime friends and fans of each other’s music, it’s been wonderful to realize that writing and collaborating together fits so seamlessly into our lives.’

Well I am fairly certain I speak for a large percentage of music lovers when I say that we feel immensely fortunate that you three are in this band together as well.

You can pre-order See You Around on all sorts of a plethora of different online retailers, but I prefer to go straight to the source. Hit up their shop page and get a whole slew of different options from t-shirt and vinyl packages to sweatshirts and signed CDs. Do it. Just do it.