Russell Hoke - The Melancholy Traveler LP

Russell Hoke - The Melancholy Traveler LP

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After compiling the double cassette anthology, A Voice From the Lonesome Playground, back in 2016, we were fairly certain that would go down as not only the final documentation of Russell Hoke’s vast back catalog of recordings but also the final musical statement from him altogether. Having sold off his guitar and banjo several years prior, Hoke had expressed that he was done writing songs and making music. So it was with great surprise and delight when early last year we received word that he had recorded an album’s worth of new material and it was on its way in the mail.

With a borrowed guitar and banjo, Hoke revisited the previously undocumented pages of his original songbook and recorded this new collection straight to an outmoded cell phone. Remarkably, the resulting recordings that comprise The Melancholy Traveler are cut from a very similar cloth, both sonically and lyrically, to Hoke’s early private press, outsider folk gems like The Magic of My Youth, Cosmic Outlaw, and If I Had Been the Universe. Adding further allure to this surprise release, and highlighting his reverence for British folk music, Hoke rendered two achingly beautiful covers versions of Sandy Denny songs.

As we collectively descend from the Twisted Mountain that was 2020, together let’s hope that the unexpected appearance of a new Russell Hoke album is an indicator of brighter days ahead.