ALBUM REVIEW: 49 Winchester Are ‘Leavin’ This Holler’ Without Forsaking Their Roots

It’s been said that there’s no place like home. It nurtures and teaches us, often informing our direction in life. Sometimes, though, we have to leave to really understand not only the gravity of home, but who we are without it.

Perhaps 49 Winchester’s Isaac Gibson sings it best on the title track of the band’s latest album, Leavin’ This Holler. “Well, I hate to waste my time here / I ain’t got but so much left / Tired of running from the question / When the answer is the test,” the bandleader’s steely twang rattles against the song’s stark drums and broody strings, stirring the age-old tug-of-war between merely existing and truly living.

49 Winchester (photo by Thomas Crabtree)

While 49 Winchester have always seemed devoted to their native Castlewood, Virginia, the fearless sextet set out in 2022 to seek their destiny with Fortune Favors the Bold (ND review), and they found it. The album cemented their breakthrough after nearly a decade. Now that they’ve sampled such success, the band is reaching for even greater heights. They may be ascending with a newfound freedom and lust for life, but despite the album’s title, it’s not at the expense of their roots.

Leavin’ This Holler seems instantly familiar, in the way that music can quickly feel like a much-needed embrace. Harboring vital lessons to live easy, love hard, chase a dream, and forget the rest, the album feels personal — perhaps even essential — from the jump.

There is a seize-the-day simplicity that permeates much of the record, songs like the charming opening track “Favor” and its easygoing follow-up “Hillbilly Happy” that reflect an effortless wisdom and a striking appreciation for life, hard work, and the little things. Even loved-up offerings like the banjo-fueled ballad “Yearnin’ For You” and the dreamy slow-burner “Fast Asleep” are perfect in their uncomplicated honesty.

While the album tends to leap from the delightfully casual to the grippingly earnest, each track has a purpose and a lesson to impart, whether it’s refraining from toking outside of “Tulsa” or making sure that, with whatever you do, you “Make It Count.”

Throughout Leavin’ This Holler, the band is untethered to any one style. They bound through sturdy country, muscular rock, and penetrating Americana, flexing their intricate Appalachian sound against sweeping orchestral flourishes, as heard on the bewitching “Anchor,” and bone-chilling gospel harmonies, like those on the Maggie Antone-assisted title track.

49 Winchester themselves seem at home throughout the record. Leavin’ This Holler finds the group pushing the boundaries of their craft while also navigating a rapidly growing prestige, but they appear comfortable, confident, and content to chase their own fulfillment rather than the spotlight. Every song, as a result, is unpretentious, each poignant message attainable.

Leavin’ This Holler is a vital release, especially today. When it feels like we’re all just searching for a little light in the dark, 49 Winchester illuminates something akin to home.

49 Winchester’s Leavin’ This Holler is out Aug. 2 on New West Records.