Will Schube is like a famous Chinese ruler whose name starts with X.
Paradise of Bachelors had a helluva 2014. Working in both new releases and re-issues, the small North Carolina label re-introduced the world to Lavender Country, the first country album by an openly gay artist, and Mike Cooper, the folk/experimental/jazz/everything wild man. Cooper’s discography is vast and the label did a wonderful job selecting instances of accessibility and spontaneity that serve as a nice introduction to Cooper’s work. Lavender Country is a powerful protest album—and the sort of country music so desperately missed as the trash that occupies the radio becomes more the norm (it already is, and has been for some time). And then there’s Steve Gunn. Gunn’s Way Out Weather is my favorite album of 2014, a wonderful amalgam of psych-folk, Grateful Dead rambles, and awed mysticism. All this is to say that 2015 is a very exciting time to be Paradise of Bachelors, or even better, a fan of the label.
The label’s first release of the new year is from a bouncing folkster named Jake Xerxes Fussell. Xerxes is a bit of an anachronism—a reviver of unheard of and underappreciated blues standards. The record was produced by William Tyler—another excellent guitarist in the same territory as Gunn—and first single, “Raggy Levy” is a bouncing folk jam with an emotional core that hits hard. The standup bass line subtly carries the track, as Fussell’s powerful voice lands somewhere in between The Tallest Man On Earth and Levon Helm. The track is wonderful and an excellent peak into the record, which will be out January 27th. 2014 is Paradise of Bachelor’s introduction to the world. Jake Xerxes Fussell’s pushing for an even better 2015.
