All Bad, the latest album from Nick Shoulders, ultimately encapsulates everything that makes Shoulders inimitable form of country music so vital: a heady balance of dazzling musicianship and punk defiance, coupled with gritty eccentricity and a generational connection to the roots of the genre. With a singing style inherited from his familys vocal lineage, Nicks songs achieve the rare feat of imparting difficult truths while inciting a certain joyful abandon, balancing a sound forged by years of hard travel with a heartfelt reverence for the origins of country music. In the spirit of Hazel Dickens and Jimmy Driftwood, the incisive yet wildly jubilant All Bad vocally objects to the reckless destruction of the natural landscape and development run rampant, while still offering plenty of joy and dance-ready rhythms. Spanning a variety of early country styles, the albums infectious harmonies shine alongside everything from jangling cajun waltzes to surf-rock infused bluesy balladsall tied together by a voice seemingly out of place in this century, yet ever ready to speak up about its problems. Released via Gar Hole Records (a label founded and co-owned by Shoulders), All Bad marks the first LP made with his longtime band, the Okay Crawdad, since 2019s premier full-length Okay, Crawdad and their subsequent pandemic-imposed hiatus. After writing most of the album from the front seat of a tour van, the Fayetteville, AR-based musician and bandmates Grant DAubin (harmonies/bass), Cheech Moosekian (drums) and Jack Studer (lead guitar) recorded the album in a home studio on the banks of the mississippi river with New Orleans collaborators Ross Farbe and Sam Doores. 1. Hoarse Whisperer 2. Blue Endless Highway 3. All Bad 4. Hook, Line and Sinker 5. Its the Best? 6. Toast First 7. Arkansaw Troubler 8. Mama Tired 9. Up the Ouachita 10. Long Spring 11. Appreciatecha 12. Wont Fence Us In 13. Whooped If You Will 14. Empty Yodel No. 1
- Language : English
- Product Dimensions : 0.16 x 12.3 x 12.17 inches; 9.76 ounces
- Manufacturer : Gar Hole Records
- Original Release Date : 2025
- Date First Available : February 28, 2025
- Label : Gar Hole Records
- Country of Origin : USA
- Number of discs : 1
