Episode 44: Early James
Recorded in person at AmericanaFest in Nashville. Early James released “Strange Time to Be Alive”, his second album, produced by Dan Auerbach at his Easy Eye Studios earlier this year. We hear about the process of working with Dan and his band of legendary musicians as they interpret James’ songs, working with Sierra Ferrell on their duet “Real Low Down Lonesome”, how he developed his unique singing voice because he did not like or trust the sound of his “church voice”, and how his songs are like Japanese video games.
Alabama's native son, Early James, released his sophomore album, Strange Time To Be Alive, on August 19th, 2022. The lyrical wordsmith conjures the ghosts of great southern gothic writers from Eudora Welty to William Faulkner, while channeling the haunted spirits of Tom Waits and Townes Van Zandt. The album evokes a timeless amalgam of forsaken blues, wistful folk, and Tin Pan Alley crooning, anchored by the singer’s unmistakable voice that sways from gravel-filled shouts to pained, forlorn whispers – and songs that tread in the waters of darkly themed broken hearts, with the wry humor of the sad clown.
