ALBUM PREMIERE: Annie Neeley Digs into the American Canon with Musically Rich ‘Big Old Moon’

Geography has so much to do with the feel of a record. It’s why artists often make pilgrimages to studios halfway around the world in search of a particular sound. Location, it seems, plays a huge role in capturing performances. And for songwriter Annie Neeley, a home studio in West Virginia near the site of Mothman’s first appearance provided the perfect spot to craft her fantastic new record Big Old Moon.

For over a decade, Neeley and her bass player/husband, Dave Kirkpatrick, have been writing songs on the folkier side of country. Her 2010 debut, Cold Heart Blues, features the type of songwriting that can coax tears from stone. With stylistic references to Hank Williams and Emmylou Harris, Neeley writes with the confidence of someone firmly connected to their roots. In 2016, she released a collaborative album with fellow writer Andrew Adkins called Appalachia. The two managed to mix traditional bluegrass instruments with an outlaw sound, particularly on songs like “When I Was Young” or “Bound for Somewhere.” Neeley has been all around the Eastern US, playing her songs with a rotating cast of friends and characters. From West Virginia to DC to Nashville and back to the holler again, Neeley has found a way to channel those deep roots into a more raucous version of her original bluegrass with Big Old Moon.

Today Glide is excited to offer an exclusive premiere of the new album ahead of its release on September 16th. Blending country-soul, roots rock, and even bluegrass, the album hits right out of the gate with the deeply soulful title track brimming with positivity, organ, laid back guitar, and a big chorus of background singers. There are plenty of influencers at play throughout the album, much like country-rock bands in the 60s and 70s soaked up the history of American music. We hear funky grooves and old school R&B on “We Rise,” gospel on songs like “Hero,” and mournful rock on “Patchwork Quilt.” Elsewhere, we get doses of gothic Americana and folk, and on album closer “Sweet Love” we even get a healthy wallop of honky tonk, rounding out an album that truly captures Neeley’s deep well of creativity and inspiration as an artist. With generations of greats before her and generations still to come, Annie Neeley writes about life in the Appalachian mountains with a sincerity that only comes from experience. These songs are perfect for those hot, swampy summer nights, where there’s just a hint of magic in the air. Neeley has seen it. And through her words and tunes, so can you.

LISTEN:

What inspires you to keep writing?

I’ve been at this for a while now. Writing songs is just part of my life. Like most writers I guess I just keep at it hoping to feel that crazy moment one more time, when the melody takes on a life of it’s own and then blends with the chords and lyrics in a magical way. Whatever that alchemy is, it is amazing when it happens.

You’ve moved around a lot in the past few years – Nashville, DC, and West Virginia are a few of the places you’ve lived. Do you feel like this restlessness is imbued into the songs on Big Old Moon?

All of those places are in there. The restlessness is in there. This whole record is about identity and sense of place and time. I left West Virginia when I was 17 and aside from touching base back here every now and again, I spent most of my life moving, so did Dave. The miles change your perspective in a certain way. So, even though we are living in a seemingly familiar place, a lot of our experiences are brand new for travelling gypsy people, like us, living in a small town. The songs on this record each hold some moment of our travels or transitions, or try to answer questions I’ve asked or Dave has asked or sketch people that we’ve met.

How did you go about arranging these songs? There’s really stellar performances all over this record, and everything feels so natural.

Dave and I had never played these songs with a full band until we got to the studio. We arranged them and sent demos to the guys but the first time we ever played them together was just prior to hitting “record.” We ran through each song a few times, and figured out who was going to solo, or maybe changed an intro. Then Bud would say: “Y’all, wanna run one?” and we’d just go for it and hang on, me up in the attic and the dudes down in the main room of the cabin. I think it sounds natural because it really is a live performance. We overdubbed percussion, organ, my backing vocals, and some pedal steel but everything else is live.

Do you like playing with a band, or playing solo more?

I love playing with a band. I love it when everyone is just into the songs and listening to each other and the push/pull of it. There’s nothing like it. I completely feel like time and space expand in those moments.

Did you catch a glimpse of Mothman while you were recording up in the Appalachian mountains?

The cabin where we recorded is actually in the “TNT Area” where the Mothman was first sighted. I don’t know if it’s the proximity of the Ohio River or knowing about the history of Mothman, but there is definitely a kind of charged feel to the air there.

What’s next for you? Where can listeners expect to find you in the last quarter of 2021?

The pandemic is (once again) making live shows a little challenging. We’re working on the logistics of an online album release party and some live shows in West Virginia whenever that seems like a safe plan. I already had several things get rescheduled and that’s OK. I’m going to head down to Nashville in a couple of weeks, to see some pals, visit The Vinyl Lab to maybe pick up a test pressing of the record and hit a couple of Americanafest events too. Hoping to have a LIVE Big Old Moon party before the year is out down in Charleston. Dave and I are also members of an amazing band called Hello June and we’ll be working on new songs with them as well as our own new songs through the Winter.