Upland Stories

In 1993, a songwriter banging around the Chicago club scene with a twangy voice and dangerous sense of humor caught our attention. We started making records with him, and as part of the first-generation Bloodshot roster, Robbie Fulks helped us define 'Alternative Country.' In 2013, after two decades of playing music everywhere from the taverns of southern Illinois to the honky-tonks of northern Norway, from Austin City Limits's soundstage to the historic Grand Ole Opry, he reunited with us for the highly acclaimed 'Gone Away Backward'. 'Upland Stories' continues and - with sprinklings of pedal steel, drums, electric guitar, and keyboards - expands the sound of that acoustic set. Fulks's richly emotional storytelling is illuminated by his instrumental prowess and emotional voice. At 53, he is philosophically reflective, writing "with clear eyes and a full heart". Don't get us wrong, his wit is still as quick as his picking; but it's reflected through the lens of fatherhood, marriage, middle age, and the literary voices he is drawn to and draws from: Flannery O'Connor, Anton Chekhov, Mary Lavin, Frank O'Connor, Javier Marias, James Agee. Three new songs - 'Alabama at Night,' 'America Is A Hard Religion,' and 'A Miracle' - are meditations inspired by Agee's 1936 trip to Alabama, the sojourn that fueled his furious polemic on American poverty, Let Us Now Praise Famous Men. Twenty years ago, Robbie's exuberance for old-school country made a lot of noise. Today, his storytelling through folk and bluegrass music on 'Upland Stories' delivers the quieter, sometimes unsettling truths of humanity.LP - 180 Gram Vinyl with Download.