Susto Stringband released their debut album, Susto Stringband: Volume 1, today via New West Records. The 9-track set was produced by Ryan Stigmon and recorded at Mitch Easter’s Fidelitorium Recordings in Kernersville, NC. The debut album is a collaborative work between Justin Osborne, frontman of the acclaimed rock outfit Susto, and the Asheville-based Americana band Holler Choir. It features nine of Osborne’s ballads, refrains, and heart wrenching confessions, now drenched in the singular Appalachian sound of Holler Choir’s verdant harmonies and stringed arrangements. Seven Susto staples have been reworked with bluegrass arrangements in Holler Choir’s company alongside 2 new compositions. Osborne’s introspective musings on love, devastating loss, mortality, and transcendence are steeped in the emotive punch of traditional string band sound. Susto Stringband presents an Arcadia like vision of pastoralism and harmony with nature, but with Osborne’s lyrics, there are landmines to dodge and mountains to climb. Glide Magazine said “The Susto Stringband is a fantastic experiment and evolution of his work… Osborne’s gambling on reinvention pays off exceedingly well, creating anticipation for a follow-up.”
Today, The Bluegrass Situation shared the video for the album highlight “Double Crown.” Osborne said, “This song is a tribute to one of our favorite dive bars in Asheville. When we were living there, my wife, Caroline, and I would often go to the Double Crown for Western Wednesdays, where they feature lots of honky tonk and adjacent genres of music. The song is not only a tribute to the bar, but the whole scene Caroline and I found ourselves in when we lived there.” Holler Choir’s Clint Roberts said, “Justin really captures the essence of our local favorite bar in its truest form with this song. The images referenced in the lyrics—two-stepping and romances, both fleeting and permanent—are vivid and very real. The sweetness of the melody pairs perfectly with the sentiments I feel about the Double Crown. I’m very proud to be a part of this representation of a time and place that holds so much personal relevance for me.”
The band previously shared videos for the album standout “Never Losing Me.” and its first single, “Friends, Lovers, Ex-Lovers: Whatever as well.”
Justin Osborne has been performing as Susto since 2013 when he formed a collective of fellow musicians and artists in coastal Charleston, South Carolina. Loosely translated from Spanish, “Susto” means “an intense fear understood as a condition of the soul.” In 2022, after some major life shifts, he found himself in Asheville, North Carolina, where at an open mic night, this newcomer to the mountain town was met with the warm embrace of the singular, powerhouse Holler Choir. 2023 saw the release of Susto’s latest album, My Entire Life, which was met with critical acclaim. The following year, Holler Choir released their debut album Songs Before They Write Themselves.
Susto Stringband will celebrate the release of their debut album at The Palm Room tonight in Wrightsville Beach, NC and have also confirmed appearances at the Charleston Bluegrass Festival, Red Wing Roots Music Festival, and Party on the Mountain this Summer. Please see tour dates below.
Susto Stringband: Volume 1 is available NOW via NEW WEST RECORDS. The vinyl version of the debut is also available for pre-order starting TODAY via the band’s official website.
