Self-released

****1/2

Singer, guitarist, and songwriter Kurt Lee Wheeler has intuitively created a set of fine classy tunes that deserve repeated listening. The album, titled after his hometown, details the life of one who’s lived so widely and experienced such a great deal. Not even one of these 13 tracks falters. It is even, wonder of wonders, shorter (at not quite 53 minutes) than you'd want it to be. The musical direction and journey that Kurt and his talented group of musicians have traveled on this album is one of well-communicated storytelling, memorable melodies, tasteful arrangements and stellar musicianship. It combines several themes that feature regularly in traditional music—everyday struggles, resilience, infidelity, missing the home place, unrequited love, remote mountain settings and ultimately a central theme of nostalgia. There’s an understated sense of liberation within this latest work that is frankly empowering. For an artist with more than three decades of music-making behind him, miraculously he hasn’t tired of exploring the silver linings, making the rainclouds prettier. He combines a zest for country and bluegrass basics and his own storytelling skills in such a way as to make an incisive impact, while providing a deeper universal, yet deeply personal overview in the process.

Though Kurt can take much of the credit here, his Lathemtown bandmates—producer Jeff Partin (Dobro, bass, backing vocals), Aarron Ramsey (banjo. mandolin), Jake Stargill (guitar), and John Rice (fiddle)—contribute their own set of skills when it comes to shaping the subtle arrangements that allow each offering to soar. These are rhythms of departure (Portland) and arrival (Bus Depot), which make this album a heady blend of retro aesthetics and magical songwriting that immediately carries you off somewhere else entirely. Check out Faces, a travelling song that showcases Kurt’s willingness to eschew proper pronunciation to craft a solid hook. Pronunciation conventions be damned; I’ll take this catchy bluegrass-country any day. In contrast, Hesitant Father looks to the more personal and intimate moments in our lives, where uncertainty and doubts reverberate. The song touches on themes of gratitude, sentimentality, family relationship, and on memories, and paints such a vivid tale in both its lyrics and its musical presentation. Throughout, the playing stretches the emotion into something almost tangible, and it becomes easy to feel, along with the song’s narrator. The musical stylings of the banjo and the fiddle are an extension of the feelings of that comfort and familiarity, while the integrity of the vocals and the use of the Dobro on Tin Buckets surely drive home the truths of life that are woven throughout the lyrics. There’s new beginning in First Choice, a duet with Jesse Williams. There isn’t a moment here that isn’t beautifully executed in this lamentation on how an on-again, off-again couple may or may not fit together. A celebratory stance is apparent with the reassuring refrain that rings through Cherokee County. A fervent testimony to all the attributes of where he comes from, rooted in the folk storytelling tradition, conjuring images of clear, cool mountain tops, muddy rivers, small town courthouses and a freewheeling rural upbringing. Other highlights are the soothing, soul-stirring sounds of Too Much Time, the sweet reminisce of Girl From California and the tender contemplation evident in Cactus Flower. The latter two songs manifest as beautiful ballads, and while the message is unmistakable, the delicate designs offer the potential for winning them some wider appeal. Kurt doesn’t fool around with Chris Isaak’s Wicked Game masterpiece, performing it like the original, with a beautiful rendering enhancing his gentle delivery.

If, like me, you enjoy good songwriting and appreciate some superb bluegrass playing, you’ll just love this album. Kurt Lee Wheeler’s songwriting is perfection. No idea why this dude isn’t wildly famous but give him time.

http://kurtleewheelermusic.com

December 2025