While Jake Xerses Fussell occasionally slips original tracks into his recordings, he mostly adapts traditional songs and instrumentals, giving obscure compositions a contemporary treatment. This is the case with his sixth album, The Old Beloved Path, as well. The significant shift from recent work is that he largely returns to a stripped-down approach, dropping the synths, strings, and ambient enhancements used on 2024’s When I’m Called and 2022’s Good and Green Again. As a result, Fussell’s two-pronged emphasis on melodic guitar parts and introspective vocalizations takes centerstage.
Fussell doesn’t truck in hooks or pop formulae; rather, he strives to establish a cumulatively hypnotic quality, lulling a listener into a dreamy state. Opener “No 1,” for example, is built around spacious atmospherics and effective repetitions, Fussell mixing chorus-washed arpeggios and tuneful melodic runs.
“Early, Early in the Spring” has been recorded widely since at least the early 1900s, though there is evidence of earlier iterations going back to the 1770s. The soothing sound and Fussell’s clear yet mysterious voice bring to mind Bill Callahan, though Callahan leans decidedly toward surreal, even posthumanistic narratives while Fussell works more with pastoral imagery and romantic motifs.
