Spencer Cullum: Spencer Cullum’s Coin Collection

Spencer Cullum – Spencer Cullum’s Coin Collection

Full Time Hobby – 24 September 2021

There are rare coins indeed lurking in Spencer Cullum’s Coin Collection, the kind most people dream about but never actually find. He has a gift for merging forms and styles in ways that simply transform the musical landscape. Certainly, much of the music in this collection is based on styles from the 70s and 80s, yet what makes it unique is the way he uses his pedal steel guitar along with his band of cohorts to become stylistic shamans, subtly converting genres and creating contexts reminiscent of the past while forging new ground.

Finding the connection between Fripp and Eno and Richard Thompson and Fairport Convention, Cullum’s has an interesting set of ears. He’s also a fan of the progressive, like King Crimson and Genesis, not to mention Bill Frissell, Can and Neu. Putting that all on one disc in a way that allows listeners to find the connective tissue isn’t easy, yet he does it with the kind of style and grace not often expected of one still in his twenties.

A burbling bass followed by a gentle lead guitar sets “Jack of Fools” on a path that sounds both very folky, with a bit of the Canterbury sound thrown in for good measure. A final bit of lead guitar sets off in a Thompson-ish direction, becoming the kind of song that could have been written anytime in the last half-century.

Recalling shades of Robert Wyatt and Kevin Ayers, “Tombre En Morceaux” has the easy jazz-rock feel that set the early 70s apart from so much of the other music from that era. Giving way to “Imminent Shadow,” there’s a sense of danger that gets added to the mix. Slightly unsettling, but with some incredible guitar work that plays off against flute, it’s a piece of wonder.

Swirling and twirling, “Seaside” haunts with waves of jazz subtly colliding with Nashville slide. Never settling in either camp, the song works because it is able to straddle these two musical worlds like a colossus. Cullum takes on the world of Teutonic rock with “Dieterich Buxtehude.” His steel guitar offers a surprisingly nice accent to a piece that reminds us that music speaks a universal language. Something Cullum knows well have emigrated to Nashville from London almost a decade ago.

Having studied under the tutelage of B.J. Cole, he has learned his lessons well, creating forms and phrases that underpin the performances of an able cast of musical collaborators. Playing with an incredible list of compatriots including Caitlin Rose, Erin Rae, Jordan Lehning, Herman Dune, Annie Williams and Sean Thompson, Cullum creates music that can sound like anyone or anything, with “My Protector” bringing out his inner Pink Floyd.

Bringing us back to a folk milieu, “My Tree” floats away on a bed of acoustic guitar and flute before ending up sounding more than a bit like The Incredible String Band. That Spencer Cullum is able to do more than connect the dots, providing the context that makes all this music relevant is no easy task. Doing it as effortlessly as Spencer Cullum’s Coin Collection raises the bar for musicians who follow. 

Pre-order here: https://smarturl.it/spencercullumcc

You can also hear Spencer Cullum in Folk Radio’s latest Lost in Transmission mix here.

Photo Credit: Angelina Castillo