ALBUM REVIEW: Jake Xerxes Fussell Summons Timeless Stories on ‘When I’m Called’
Maeri Ferguson
Posted On July 11, 2024
To be the steward for stories and songs of eras past is a responsibility Jake Xerxes Fussell does not take lightly. He has, for at least a decade, shaped himself into a prolific conduit of archival folk songs, lovingly collaged with his own musical whims.
His latest outing, When I’m Called, is further proof of his mastery of understanding and conveying tunes as varied as midcentury field recordings from Appalachia and Scotland, a hand-written note found on the side of the road, and a bit of oddball 1980s art history. Fussell’s gentle vocal vibrations and acoustic guitar act as a warm arm around the shoulder, guiding the listener backward and forward through time.
Jake Fussell at his home in Durham, North Carolina (photo by Kate Medley)
Under the soft touch of producer and player James Elkington, Fussell experiments with arrangements that include French horns, strings, pedal steel, organ, and synth, among other sweet sonic surprises along the way. Guests like Joan Shelley, Blake Mills, and Robin Holcomb lend their talents to tales funny, ominous, wistful, meandering, and hopeful. Off-beat numbers like “Andy” and the album’s title track are bright spots, the former borrowed from cowboy artist Maestro Gaxiola and the latter from the aforementioned found note, seemingly scribbled by a youngster in trouble. It plays like a repetitive phrase on a chalkboard, old-school punishment for naughtiness.
Much of When I’m Called, though, is inspired by inherited pieces from Fussell’s late mentor, the folklorist Art Rosenblaum. Songs like “Feeling Day,” “One Morning in May,” and “Going to Georgia” (a particularly gorgeous album highlight) express a wide range of chivalry across time and place, from offering an umbrella to a lass in the rain to warning young ladies to stay away from the rambling kind.
Rambling, roaming, seeking — these are the thematic threads that weave Fussell’s selections together, including songs like “Gone to Hilo” and “Leaving Here, Don’t Know Where I’m Going.” When I’m Called is filled with question marks: What’s next? Where to? Fussell’s artistry by way of this research feels endless and filled with possibility.
Jake Xerxes Fussell’s When I’m Called is out July 12 on Fat Possum Records.
