Please ignore the graphic above. I created it as a “dummy” to fill the space of the album cover. But since the album will not be available until February 5, 2025, it will do. The main thing is that it brings attention to a musical event that deserves as much attention as possible—the release of New Striped Shirt—a perfectly original and satisfying collection of stories through song. It’s a brilliantly arranged, edited, and reassembled collection that, informs deeply about the puzzle of the contemporary American lived experience. But don’t let that scare you—the country-flavored folkish rock music is captivating, the voices are trustworthy, and the entire album is solid. This is a band and an album worth seeking out.

Having enjoyed previous music from Red Idle Rejects before, it is admirable to appreciate that the Appalachian atmosphere threaded throughout their sound is more universal that it first appears. There is a spirit inhabiting these songs that is as all-inclusive as it gets. For example, for as highly specific as track 2 (“‘Til She Fell for Fidel”) is, it addresses concerns of any spurned lover. Plus, it is hilarious (and highly danceable). The other tracks are all equally as original, and constitute a collection of songs that you will only hear from a group of musical mavericks such as Red Idle Rejects.

The world in which Steve Bowling’s songs live (and thrive) is a world where clarity and self-understanding are the keys to survival. Accompanying the astute lyrics are a deft musical kaleidoscope that support them cleverly and profoundly. These are just about the most accurate songs about the human experience to come along in a long time.

SONG LIST:

1. Don’t Dip Your Toe in the Water

2. ‘Til She Fell for Fidel                       

3. Cracked and Mirrored Haze               

4. New Striped Shirt (Let it be noted that the title track is an homage to the early American slaves who were brutalized by bullwhips, leaving scars on their backs, i. e. a “new striped shirt.”)                

5. Endure                                             

6. It’s Not What I Want                         

7. It Burns                                               

8. Sag                                                     

9. Rough Hands                                   

Musicians: Steve Bowling (acoustic guitar and lead vocals, except “New Striped Shirt,” which is Rachel Bowling and Grace Bowling Dixon), Steve Ferguson and William Brock (electric guitar), Kurt Kaufman, Mick Waltrip, Derek Johnson (drums), Justin Bridges (fiddle), Daniel Parker Ferguson (bass guitar).