During this unintentional hiatus from Substack, I did a two-week printmaking residency and listened to a LOT of albums. I’m going to do my best to play catch up with myself and retroactively write about most of what I’ve been listening to, starting with two that I’ve been really enjoying since April: Joseph Terrell’s “Good For Nothing Howl” and Magic Al’s “Good Grief”.
Joseph Terrell is a founding member of the North Carolina based group Mipso, whose songs have made appearances in a couple of my previous posts. Terrell started the group with Wood Robinson and Jacob Sharp in 2011, and they performed as “Mipso Trio” until Libby Rodenbough joined the band. Now all four core members - Terrell on guitar, Sharp on mandolin, Rodenbough on fiddle, and Robinson on bass, with all four singing lead/backing vocals - have released solo work as well, which I’ve been listening to more recently.
Terrell’s first solo album, “Good For Nothing Howl”, came out in May of 2023. Several other NC artists appear on the album, including Rodenbough on fiddle and Chessa Rich, Skylar Gudasz, and Tift Merritt on harmonies. The lyrics are sensory and evocative throughout, starting with the first line of the first track, Persimmon: “Walking the ridgeline, cold in the shade / Laurel and spruce pine scatter the grade.” Musically, the album sounds mystical, with a carefully mixed balance of flute, cello, organ, and synth elevating the more expected strings and percussion. As someone with little formal music training, I admire Terrell’s (and Mipso’s) ability to push the bounds of instrumentation and create a sort of auditory “aesthetic.” I think both “Good For Nothing Howl” and Mipso’s most recent album “Book Of Fools” are great examples of that.
Magic Al, aka Alex Bingham, is a Hillsborough based artist who has been working collaboratively with other NC groups, including touring with Hiss Golden Messenger, for years. (Side note: Hiss Golden Messenger was one of the last concerts I saw before Covid lockdowns began. They played at the Cat’s Cradle with Lily Hiatt as their opener, and it rocked. I highly recommend seeing Hiss live if you ever get the chance.) “Good Grief” is Magic Al’s debut album. I won’t get into the story behind the album’s conception here; I’ll just say that its dance-party-worthy songs come from a place of deep grief and healing. The array of musicians Bingham brought in as guest features on this album speak to the importance of community in times of grief. Both Terrell and Rodenbough appear on the album on vocals and guitar, as well as Molly Sarle and Sylvan Esso’s Amelia Meath on vocals, just to name a few. Many of the guests on the album were co-writers as well.
I would also be remiss not to mention the album art for “Good Grief”, which was designed by brilliant artist Nathaniel Russell. Russell’s debut LP, “Songs Of”, produced by Amelia Meath, came out in May and I’m excited to give it a listen.
Here’s the playlist, which includes the Magic Al single “Skateboard Lovers”, also featuring Libby Rodenbough.
As always, thanks for reading!