Spencer Cullum’s Coin Collection 3
All great things must come to an ecstatic end, and a trilogy is typically the best way to conclude any creative endeavor or poetic project as it rises to the sonic surface like cosmic cream, breaking the crest of consciousness, for one last spiritual stretch across the sun’s ancient anatomy. From London, England, to Music City, Nashville, if you know Spencer Cullum’s music, his dynamic dedication, and fundamental fascination with the prolificacy of the past, and its legends like Bert Jansch, Gram Parsons, and the Canterbury scene, to name a few, then you must understand that the multi-instrumentalist, vocalist, and pedal steel savant, has becoming a favorable force in his new found community. Having played for the likes of Dolly Parton, Miranda Lambert, Angel Olsen, Caitlin Rose, and his tonal trio Shrunken Elvis, which features longtime pals and creative colleagues Rich Ruth and Sean Thompson, Culllum returns with his last entry in the “Coin Collection” series and delivers the currency through his well-crafted craftsmanship of excellent expression and liberating landscapes of sound. Carefully conceived by reel-to-reel field recordings, iPhone voice notes, and studio sessions around the world on various tours, the musician takes listeners on one last harmonious hoorah as spring stretches its prehistoric petals, and Middle Tennessee’s wondrous weather begins to heal the harmonies of this unique universe we find ourselves occupying when we’re not too busy caught up in our work, and lives.
Similar to the familiar fashion of Soft Machines’ spiritual series of albums, or the Dutch rock group centered around the flutist and visceral vocalist Thijs Van Leer, Focus, this particular trilogy of albums pays homage to the past, while simultaneously uplifting the southern spirits of Cullum’s creative community one track at a time. Coming off of 2023’s spring release of “Coin Collection 2”, Cullum calls on an electrifying ensemble of players both local, and overseas, such as Rich Ruth, Erin Rae, Dom Billett, Sean Thompson, Ethan Ballinger, Annie Williams, Allison du Groot, Oisin Leech, Jim Hoke, Hollow Hand, Adam Bednarik, Danny Mitchell, and Jo Schornikow, to help secure the sophisticated sonics, and lyrical landscapes that dwell within the feverish fibers of the album’s comforting core. Across the album’s nine tracks, there are several open windows, where the biblical breeze burps the house during the summer’s swell, Cullum finds himself gravitating towards the curiosity of the occult, and its radiating rooms filled with battered books, mason jars filled with melodic memories, and more questions than answers. “I love reading about standing stones and old folk stories about how men would get enticed into the woods and murdered by some sort of witch. I love that, it's brilliant,” says Cullum about the origins of topics and the focus of the album. “Coin Collection 3” ties everything together like a sonic script. Before the curtains part, the audience leans back into their soft seats, the lights dim, casting silver shadows across the viewers, and a polished pedal steel sound comes out of the darkness, and spills into the hearts and souls of the attendees as they sit, and marvel at the majestic melodies before them. Set for release this Friday on the London-based label Full Time Hobby, listeners can anticipate atmospheric Americana at its blistering best.
