Wasted Love
Self-Released, 2021
8/10
A singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist who was raised in Western North Carolina, Nathan Evans Fox is versed in both folk and country sounds, and here he brings a variety of ideas to themes of religious and cultural examination.
“One Of These Days” starts the listen with much warmth, as Fox’s expressive pipes are met with soft keys and a soulfulness you can’t help but admire, and “Mercedes Benz” follows with a breezy version of Americana, where crisp drumming and rugged guitar make an indelible impression.
Further along, “Good Trucks” offers a charming country tune that benefits much from Mike Harris’ slide guitar prowess, while “These Four Walls” flows with immense beauty amid Lindsay Foote’s background vocals. “Damn Hard”, one of the album’s best, then mixes grit with a rural appeal that sounds right at home in Fox’s current Nashville surroundings.
Making our way to the end, “Put Money Down” is a calmer, nearly ‘70s inspired tune that’s full of eloquent wordplay, and the title track exits the listen with sophisticated piano in a poetic, artistic and very mature finish to a very genuine record.
A listen that’s certainly indebted to his Appalachian roots, Fox plays acoustic and electric guitar, fiddle, keys, banjo, pedal steel and percussion on this 4th album, and in addition to Harris and Foote, Drew Lloyd plays bass and Will Kissane sits behind the drum kit.
Wasted Love was birthed after much tragedy in Fox’s life, and it’s a reflective and cautious outing, but ultimately one packed with good feelings, which we could all benefit from now more than ever.
Travels well with: Anya Hinkle- Eden And Her Borderlands; Tommy Womack- I Thought I Was Fine