Ryan Culwell: Run Like a Bull
Photo by Neilson Hubbard
It’s funny how a place calls to us, even when we think we escape it. It invades our dreams, and sometimes appears within our art. The Texas Panhandle can be an unforgiving and desolate place, but it also leaves a mark on those that weather the storms, the droughts, the oil booms and busts. Some never leave; they raise the next generation of homecoming queens and football teams. Others, like Ryan Culwell, escape their small town, strike out on their own and sample what the big world has to offer. Although not a household name, Ryan’s had his share of success: a critically acclaimed second album, with praise from Rolling Stone and NPR. There seems to be no formula that Culwell follows when making albums, as each of his three albums examine a different aspect of his life or the times he’s living in. “That first record was me setting my gaze on where I come from,” says Culwell, “and the second one was me setting my gaze on the country as a whole. This time around, though, I wanted to take a closer look at myself.”
Although his music has been described as “gorgeous and bleak,” it’s really that Culwell can balance both the best and worst parts of life within a line, a song, or an album. Real life isn’t all sunshine and smiles, and most of the time it’s not a gritty break-up album. Real life is plowing through days that feel the same, recalling slivers of memories of your youth that you contemplate the importance of, and figuring out who you are as a lover, friend, parent, and person. It’s these things that Ryan captures so beautifully in his latest album, Run Like a Bull.
Run Like a Bull was recorded in four days with Culwell’s friend and collaborator, Neilson Hubbard, and features an all-star group of musicians, including Juan Solorzano (Becca Mancari, Devon Gilfillian), Kris Donegan (Molly Tuttle, Mary Gauthier), and Will Kimbrough (Rodney Crowell, Todd Snider), along with guest vocalists Natalie Schlabs, Betsy Phillips, and Caroline Spence. It’s not a flashy or overdone album. It's clean and minimal, letting the songs do the heavy lifting and not relying on studio magic to make it something it’s not. But that’s Ryan Cullwell’s way. If you’ve ever seen him live, you know there’s no flash. Just some dry humor, cap pulled low, and a pair of work boots, while he introduces each song in the setlist.
Listening to the eleven tracks on Run Like a Bull, it’s difficult to pick a favorite. Since it was announced, I had intended on purchasing the album, as I’ve been a Culwell fan since I first saw him perform in 2018, but it was hearing the acoustic perfection of “Colorado Blues” for the first time that sealed the deal. Somehow the song seems like the very antithesis of John Denver’s “Rocky Mountain High,” even though both are looking at portions of their life, but with very different outcomes and thoughts. One of the best lyrics on this entire album is:
“Lying on my crooked back
I look back on my crooked path
Winding my way back now just seems dumb”
Contemplating where you’ve been, how you’ve strayed, your sadness, and dreaming of what you could and should be doing with your life is something I feel like anyone over the age of thirty can say they’ve laid awake at night and thought about. 'Who am I? Where did I go wrong? What am I doing with my life?' are some of the more common questions that we’ve all dealt with.
You can’t grow up in the church, especially in the south, and not appreciate a song like “Wild Sometimes.” Inevitably revival and the subsequent sermons that seemed to last hours, led to kids trying to find anything to escape and create their own fun. “Wild Sometimes” perfectly describes what it felt like, forced into something you had no interest in and how, feeling the need to break out, feel something, get a little wild, just to know you’re still alive.
“When I was a kid we’d go to church
Just to watch the women shake
Roll out in the aisle
Hear all the sounds the body make
When the grown folks caught revival
Us kids would go play ditch
I got found by a strawberry blonde
With the grape juice on her lips“
I’d be remiss not to mention “Let’s Go Crazy,” as it seems to be one of the most true-to-life songs that Culwell shares on the album. Mentioning his two-bed ranch and his three little babies, Culwell, his wife, and his four daughters recently left Nashville for Texas, returning to his home state like a long lost prodigal son.
“Oh baby let’s go crazy
Leave this town with all our babies
Raise ‘em like my momma raised me”
Although Culwell is drawing from his own past and present experiences on this album, it never feels so personal that the listener can’t relate. He excels in this, and I firmly believe the best songwriters always do. Culwell continues to improve on each album and without question this is his best one yet. Honest, thoughtful and intimate, Run Like a Bull packs a punch with its stellar songwriting and stripped down production.
Find more about Ryan Culwell here: