Jimbo Mathus has blazed a singular path as a singer, songwriter, guitarist, producer and shaman for 40 years, recording and releasing more than 300 songs that are a testament to his hoodoo craftsmanship and to the sounds, sights and spirits of his inspirations in the deep South. His new album, Incinerator, which debuts on April 5 via Mississippi’s Big Legal Mess Records, is the epitome of that art — an incendiary reflection of his world in music.
Mathus describes the 11 songs on Incinerator as “a huge tapestry of my experiences, hard work and dedication to living a creative life. I really took stock of what I do and why I do it … why I weave stories and dreams and visions I have into songs. And I tried to squeeze every bit of meaning out of every note and every word I wrote and recorded. It’s impossible to separate this album from me. This is who I am.”
Incinerator was recorded in a burst of inspiration, with all but overdubs cut in just two days in Water Valley, Mississippi’s Dial Back Sound. Surprisingly, Mathus, who has produced dozens of albums, decided to hand the controls to Bronson Tew and Drive-By Truckers bassist Matt Patton, who co-own Dial Back, and opted to play piano instead of his trademark guitar.
Today Glide is excited to to premiere the title track off Incinerator, which does a fine job of summing up the overall vibe of the album. The raw-edged sprang from a vision Mathus had in his youth while working as a deckhand on barges cruising the Louisiana bayous. He translates this musically through this composition of eeriness that balances haunting blues and roots rock, and we get some of the heaviest guitar work as the song crashes and swells. It is exciting to see a darker side of Mathus, who has displayed a stunning ability to create pretty much every kind of music throughout his career.
Mathus shares his own story behind the song:
“I wrote ‘Incinerator’ in a dream one night. I was revisiting scenes from my teenage years working way back in the Louisiana bayous and shopping canals on river barges. At night, you would be all alone, awake on the midnight watch, alert for swamp people who would noiselessly float up in pirogues to pilfer whatever they could from the boat. Alligators flopped, mating. You could see the oil refineries burning off in the distance apocalyptic flames shooting up into the sky. I wondered did human souls burn off and fly to the heavens like these petroleum distillates. Did they perhaps journey to the heart of the sun, illuminating earth and giving life back until their time returns? That’s the ‘Incinerator’.”
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