Review -Muscadine Bloodline: The Coastal Plain
Photo by Jay Siske
Muscadine Bloodline will release their fourth full-length record August 16 on Stancaster Records via Thirty Tigers, but The Coastal Plain will represent the Mobile, Alabama-based group’s second release with a clearer sense of identity. “In a lot of ways our last record felt like it was our first record, in terms of knowing exactly what direction we needed to take our music,” said Gary Stanton, one half of the duo along with Charlie Muncaster, referring to 2023’s critically praised Teenage Dixie, “With this new album we wanted to narrow the lens even further and create a refined and more adventurous version of that.”
What would become the duo of Muscadine Bloodline began in Mobile in the early 2010s and the two headed to Nashville in 2015, signed a publishing deal, and started making their way through the country music machine before leaving that behind for the independent path. According to Muncaster, “We flirted with the industry for a while there, but it just didn’t feel as authentic as working with the people who really know our music and have a deep investment in what we’re doing.” The time in Nashville was not without success; their 2016 single “Porch Swing Angel” is now certified platinum with over 100 million Spotify streams to date and is still a regular feature of the band’s live shows.
In many ways, the songs on The Coastal Plain are very much like part two of a trilogy that began with Teenage Dixie and has a third record already in the works. “The way people responded to Teenage Dixie taught us that our fans want to know all the details of who we are and where we’re from,” Muncaster continues. “It made us realize we need to get even more in-depth with the stories we’re telling in our songs and tap into a whole new level of honesty.” No longer saddled with the deadlines of writing songs for Nashville, Gary and Charlie took the next step of slowing down and bringing the sound back home. “We’re at the point now where we’re letting ourselves live with the songs a while instead of rushing things out, and it’s created an atmosphere where everyone feels free to take chances and really hone in on a sound that’s unique to us,” says Stanton.
The record begins in church with a capella harmonies of “Two Tattered Tulips” taking the duo’s story back to their early days in the church choir. “I remember thinking back then that I never wanted to hear that music again,” says Stanton. “But here we are now, listening to a cappella gospel quartets and finding so much inspiration in them.” Those pure harmonies appear later in the record as well. “Daffodils” is the timeless country love story of two kids trying to work things out: “She’s been sitting on the porch for too long playing ‘Does he want me or want me not.’ Darling quit picking petals off of daffodils, girl I love you and I always will.” I’m glad “Earle Byrd from Mexia” lives in the same Muscadine Universe as “Old Man Gillich” from Teenage Dixie. These outlaws are bound to cross paths down the road. Alabama has no shortage of these characters that can serve as templates for an untold number of songs. “One Man War” is Muscadine Bloodline at its most basic; acoustic guitars and sweet harmonies with defiant lyrics that build to a crescendo of strength. “Oh here come the trials and tribulations I’ll be face to face with Satan here tonight. And oh, give me the faith to move a mountain in a One Man War inside my mind.” Sad songs are also a good excuse for a slow dance and “Pay Me No Mind” serves both purposes. Plus, it sets the mood for the joyous “Tickets for Turnpike” - telling the story of a guy offering a ticket to see the Turnpike Troubadours for a date. The song even features Turnpike Troubadours fiddler Kyle Nix. Muscadine has toured with Turnpike and is proud to have crossed that item off their bucket list. Nostalgia doesn’t always mean happy memories as “Airport & McGregor” points out, “Now I’m hanging round high n dry staying in a stuck-here town, sitting in a parking lot when I should’ve been chasing you down.” The lyrics read like a map cruising West Mobile with its many street name references (I especially appreciated hearing “Bit & Spur” mentioned).
Those haunting harmonies start the second half of The Coastal Plain with the brief “High On the Ridge” before the band roars into the rollicking police chase through Alabama’s Black Belt that is “Rattlesnake Ridge.” The players in Muscadine Bloodline define the sound with their tight picking and sharp solos much like the best bluegrass bands. Joining Muncaster and Stanton are Justin Rowton on bass, Weston Stewart on guitar, and drummer Zoltan Tobak. Muscadine Bloodline can give you a great love song and “10-90” slows things down with a mysterious title that explains itself,
“Give me you on your worst day and I’ll give you my best,
When you’ve only got 10, I’ll be that 90 that’s left,
So go on run me ragged, long as your love don’t stray
Don’t worry about meeting me in the middle, When I’m already running your way”
It’s wide open for the rest of the way with three real kickers. “Mary Riley” has taken a shine to our singer, but her millionaire daddy disapproves, “what he thinks about it’s neither here nor there, he can go stick it where the sun don’t shine.” She could very easily be the same girl in “Weyerheuser Land” who “moved down here from a Northern town” and is wooed by our singer enticing her to join him out in the long-leaf pine forests on the land owned by the giant paper company. “Low Hanging Fruit” may be the crowning achievement in this new more personal version of the band. It features all the signature elements at their best but spotlights the guitar mastery that propels the rapid-fire lyrics of rage, “there ain’t a spoonful of sugar to help the taste of your own medicine go down.” A strong way to close out the set, but one more treat is saved much like an encore, “Good in This World” is a simple song with a strong message. The story of the positive interaction of strangers at a gas station sung over a single acoustic guitar is the perfect nightcap to wrap up a fine session of storytelling and picking.
“We knew that if we’re going to write about Alabama, it needs to sound like Alabama and the rich history of music that comes from there,” says Stanton. Alabama music has never been more popular. Starting with the meteoric rise of the Red Clay Strays over the past couple years and adding the debut release from Taylor Hunnicutt and her band’s relentless touring schedule spreading the “Alabama Sound” throughout the country. Them Dirty Roses recently released their “Birmingham Steel” single and Adam Hood continues to have songs recorded by dozens of artists and makes fantastic records of his own. Ella Langley just released her debut album and has a headlining tour underway. Drayton Farley continues to stay busy touring with his original songs. Established stars Jamey Johnson, Jason Isbell, and St Paul & the Broken Bones are still in their prime. Even Randy Owen and Teddy Gentry are still proudly carrying the “Alabama” brand with their rich catalog of country classics. Now that Muscadine Bloodline is comfortable with taking on the task of telling their stories in the voice of their native state, Alabama has an even stronger presence in American music.
Find out more about Muscadine Bloodline at the links below:
