Angela Autumn's 'Believer' Is a Gloriously Overgrown Masterpiece of Stacked Guitars
Angela Autumn came up making bluegrass and old-time music, and Believer — her first full-length since 2021’s Frontiers Woman, out on Gar Hole Records — is the sound of that training being spent rather than displayed. Bandcamp Daily, naming it Album of the Day, described the record as “an Autumn-led tour of psych-rock, classic honky-tonk, indie folk, pop country, and, in recontextualized form, the bluegrass and old-time music that she started out making.”
The Sonic Breakdown
The Production & Mix
The Low-End: Isaiah Beard produced at Club Roar in Nashville, with Ross McReynolds on drums, and the rhythm section is mixed like a rock record — kick and snare forward, no polite country restraint — which is what lets fiddle, cello and clawhammer banjo sit on top without the whole thing turning into a pastiche. The Spatial Dynamics: Beard also multi-tracked the guitars, and Autumn has said he “would sometimes stack six different guitar parts on the same song.” You can hear the strategy: the stacks are spread wide and slightly detuned against each other, so what should be clutter reads as weather. She doubled a lot of her vocals too, which gives the lead a thickness that holds its own against all that guitar.
Standout Performance
Autumn’s voice, which Bandcamp Daily notes “has changed significantly since Cowboy Jack Clementine” — it has lost none of its old-time phrasing but gained the volume to lead a loud band.
Why It’s Certified
“Heavy Tobacco” opens it, “Jesus Heist” and “Electric Lizard” prove the psych-rock isn’t a costume, and closer “My Alchemy” earns its title. Twelve songs, every genre welcome, no elbows. Certified great.