Spencer Cullum, Hollow Hand & Erin Rae – Far Below The Willows

A jaunty piano line opens “Far Below The Willows”, and it takes a while to notice everything gathering around it: a soft roll of drums, Spencer Cullum’s pedal steel calling from somewhere at the back, then a touch of woodwind that lifts the whole thing off the ground.
It’s the first single from “Banquet Rock”, a collaborative album from Nashville-based pedal steel player Cullum, Brighton songwriter Max Kinghorn-Mills (Hollow Hand) and Erin Rae. The project started on early-morning Zoom calls between Nashville and Brighton that kept drifting into Steeleye Span, and took shape after the three watched the BBC’s 1974 “Electric Folk” concert together. With Dom Billett on drums, Harry Bohay on bass, and Rich Ruth on guitars and synths, they cut the record in four winter days at Chale Abbey Studios on the Isle of Wight.