Korby Lenker Experiments with Eclectic Pop Sound on Deeply Compelling ‘Man in the Maroon’ (ALBUM REVIEW)

Korby Lenker was working on his latest album during the COVID-19 lockdown when he made the decision that he wanted this record to be a “for-the-joy-of-it project.” Going from touring 150-plus shows a year to a grinding halt, stuck at home in East Nashville, he approached Man In The Maroon as if everything could all end tomorrow.

The result is a deeply compelling mix of his standard Americana, Folk, Bluegrass hybrid with an eclectic pop sound that manages to be both experimental and highly accessible. The 11 tracks that make up this, his eighth studio album, include a short story and a cover of the Henri Mancini/Johnny Mercer classic “Moon River,” giving a hauntingly serene vibe thanks to Lenker’s plaintive vocals. The record opens spectacularly with the driving “All in My Head,” a great folk/rock track tackling depression. Elsewhere, on “Crow Country,” Lenker plays a clawhammer banjo alongside Grammy Award-winning Native American singer, Bill Miller, who helps out on vocals and Native American Flute, while on “Mose And Ella” Lenker (who also happens to be a published author), reads a 15-minute short story he penned about two kids exploring the woods at dusk. The story, though enjoyable, seems oddly out of place, sandwiched between songs. But is does seem to jibe with Lenker’s “for-the-joy-of-it” ethos that powered this album.

Man in the Maroon is anything but a standard record. There are stripped-down songs about love and love lost, (“Soft As a Cactus,” “What’s Wrong With Us”), moments where Lenker lingers in Blues territory (“Paper Cuts,” “Now I Once Thought That  I Was Strong”), a joyful Bluegrass instrumental (“Billie Louise”) and plenty of the blissfully fun American/pop songs that have made Lenker such a force in the genre. Describing the album recently, he said “Each song feels like its own little movie. Some artists like to work within a tight palette, but I’ve always created records that mirror the shows I play, where there’s a lot of diversity between songs… I try to pepper my shows and albums with little vignettes of those experiences, in as many colors as I can.” Nowhere is that more apparent than on this newest album. 

Photo by David McClister

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