Album Review – Nick Shoulders – “Refugia Blues”

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Country folk (#575) on the Country DDS.

Nick Shoulders is the singing, yodeling, whistling, mulleted and mustachioed country music weirdo freak of our time. For those who’ve been wooed by his musical musings and vocal acrobatics at some point in the past, you need no persuading to the magic this man can make, however curious and offbeat it might come across. For those who are unfamiliar, get ready to take a gainer into a cavernous rabbit hole leading you to songs, albums, and performance videos on one of the most gifted and curious singers/yodelers/whistlers of our time.

Refugia Blues is what Mr. Shoulders named his latest release. Listeners can expect a significantly more stripped-down approach to the music and arrangements, and a bit more measured energy-level from Nick himself compared to previous records, including his Pandemic-era release Home on the Rage that was also a bit more sparse. “Less” would be the general, top-line observation on the album compared to previous ones.

Don’t worry though, Nick Shoulders still showcases all the spellbinding skills and talents that have made him a cult hero in roots music circles. The simple but compelling “Hill Folk” features that effortless high yodel that makes Shoulders such a freak of nature, and awakens a deep archaic appeal in the audience. “Western Meta Sin” tells its story solely through the confident and adroit whistle of Shoulders.

“Deux Hurry” is a perfect specimen of Nick’s crafty, cunning wordplay, accompanied by his more than capable clawhammer banjo. Refugia Blues also includes something we’ve never heard from Nick Shoulders before: a love song. But instead of taking a sappy or saccharine approach, “Tatum Spring” compels the listener with the way it weaves person and place into its displays of affection.



By soliciting little if any assistance from his backing band Okay, Crawdad (also the name of his 2nd album), there is ample space on this album for the expressions of Nick Shoulders to flourish and be centered in the attention of the audience. But this also fells like the weakness of Refugia Blues. As opposed to using space and silence as a way to distinguish certain tracks that naturally call for a more intimate setting or mood, the songs start to feel a little empty when taken as a whole.

Recently, Shoulders let it be known that due to financial headwinds, he was having to strip back his touring entourage. In this respect, perhaps the approach to Refugia Blues is smart since it better represents how you might see these songs in the live setting. But most recently he’s still be performing as a 4-piece, while many of these new tracks just feature Nick. There is also only nine songs total, two of which are under two minutes long, and a cover song of “Digging Up Bones” by Randy Travis.

But what the listener also must appreciate is the more measured musical approach to this album coincides with Nick’s desire to be more measured in his expressions. “May your love and rage compel ya to a softer way of surviving this place,” he sings at the beginning of the song “Bored Fightin’.”

Nick Shoulders remains outspoken though, like in the deftly delivered a cappella song “Apocalypse Never” about environmental destruction. “Dixie Be Damned” about the dubious history of the South is another political song, though rendered more like an ode to a bleeding heart cause as opposed to a compelling narrative on its behalf.

But the way Nick Shoulders sings with such ease, you can almost take it for granted what a great singer he is, even when he’s not jumping through hoops, or standing on his head, but just singing a song that means something to him. Even a more muted and measured, and somewhat truncated Nick Shoulders is something to behold, and is a shade more compelling than most anything else you might happen upon, even if Refugia Blues isn’t the greatest starting point for someone looking to delve into the full wonders of his music and career.

7.8/10

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