THE UNCUT GUIDE TO THIS MONTH’S KEY RELEASES
JAKE XERXES FUSSELL
Good And Green Again PARADISE OF BACHELORS
Timeless tales of loss and redemption fuel folk-informed Southern songwriter’s stirring return.
By Stephen Deusner
“And sunk her in the low and lonesome water/And he sunk her in the lonesome sea”
THE centrepiece of Good And Green Again, the ingenious and soulful new album OF THE by North Carolina-based folk musician Jake Xerxes Fussell, is “The Golden Willow Tree”, an epic storysong about the sinking of a ship. Combining lyrics and melodies from various folk tunes – including a song by The Carter Family and another by a North Georgia singer named Paralee McCloud – it’s an intricate tale of maritime espionage, of courage and conspiracy, betrayal and comeuppance, told over a dozen swashbuckling verses. Fussell recounts a sailor’s offer to scuttle his own ship to win the favour of a rival captain, depicting the event in grave detail:
“He had a little auger fit for the bore, and he bored nine holes in the bottom of the floor,” he sings, his robust voice sounding particularly downcast. “And sunk her in the low and lonesome water/And he sunk her in the lonesome sea.”