Nashville musician Korby Lenker decided to skip the traditional record studio for his latest album, “Thousand Springs,” and take a field trip instead. Armed with his guitar, some recording equipment and a tent, he headed to a dozen various places including his home state of Idaho, Texas, Massachusetts and Standing Rock, the site of the recent government standoff. He played in bookstores, hotel rooms and even a mortuary. The inspiration can be heard all over “Thousand Springs,” an expansive, thoughtful and thoroughly enjoyable album.
The record starts out on a solemn note with the song “Northern Lights,” and while his arrangements are beautiful throughout, not every track here is mellow. Lenker channels Paul Simon on the catchy “Nothing Really Matters” and even taps into a little funk on the driving song “Last Man Standing,” recorded at Standing Rock and written about Chief Sitting Bull. Not every song here is earnest, however, with Lenker showing his light side on songs like the cleverly infectious “Book Nerd.”
Hitting the road to record this album, Lenker tapped close to 30 fellow folk musicians to help lend their efforts to “Thousand Springs.” While certainly ambitious, the gambles paid off remarkably well, making this one of his best efforts to date.
Korby Lenker – Thousand Springs/12 tracks/Soundly Music/2017 / https://twitter.com/korbykorby
John Sargeant, writing on NeuFutur as Sargeant, is the founder and editor-in-chief of NeuFutur Magazine, where he has covered independent music, PC hardware, consumer tech, and gaming culture since 1998. With over 25 years of continuous digital publishing experience, he has written thousands of hands-on game and record reviews, conducted in-depth hardware field testing, and analyzed digital media monetization trends. His work prioritizes first-hand evaluation and long-term product testing.
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