The Lone Bellow What a Time to Be Alive
When an unforeseen disaster turns into a joyful, luminous, and lush album—recorded in a place as legendary as Muscle Shoals, Alabama, home to FAME Studios, where soul, rock, and country icons carved timeless classics—it is a reminder that the power of creation, and the support of a devoted fan community, should never be underestimated. This is exactly what happened to the Nashville-by-way-of-Brooklyn group The Lone Bellow, founded in 2013 by Zach Williams, Brian Elmquist, and Kanene Pipkin.
While on tour in Chicago, after writing and recording demos in Henderson, Kentucky, and later in Muscle Shoals for their sixth album, What a Time to Be Alive, the band’s van was broken into and all their gear was stolen— instruments, clothes, and most importantly, the new material. “Among other things, they stole a hard drive with a bunch of recordings on it,” Williams recalls, “which meant we were suddenly back to square one with the album.”
After the news broke, their incredible fanbase raised enough money within hours to replace the stolen equipment and get the band back into the studio. “When something like that happens and you realize how much the art you’re creating means to other people, it’s very humbling,” says Pipkin, “but it’s also very motivating. It pushed us to be even more honest, brave, and present.”
What a Time to Be Alive and its twelve songs mark a turning point for the trio, as it is the first time they have fully collaborated and written with their touring band, including drummer Julian Dorio and multi-instrumentalist Tyler Geertsma.
Inspired by the raucous, high-energy jams they played during soundchecks on the road, the songs swing between badass, rock’n’roll–loaded riffs and the beautiful, heartfelt harmonies that have been their trademark since the beginning. “We wanted to shake things up and try a new approach this time around,” says Elmquist, who took the lead in producing the album. “People just sat at whatever instrument they were feeling, and then we’d jam until we had a song. It felt like we were teenagers again playing in a garage, which is a magical thing for a band that’s 15 years into their career.”
The opening track, “After the Rain,” driven by a Wurlitzer played by Tyler Geertsma, a boogie-leaning electric guitar riff, and a hypnotic cowbell, sounds like a seventies tune by The Swampers—the legendary Muscle Shoals rhythm section—blasting out of a car radio, the perfect soundtrack for a road trip. “I Did It for Love” and “You Were Leaving” venture into country-folk balladry, while the stirring “Common Folk” salutes the ordinary, everyday heroes who make the world go round.
The Lone Bellow are generous with their fans and decided to record “Islands in the Stream,” a cover of the Bee Gees song—popularized by Dolly Parton and Kenny Rogers—that they have long played live and that has become a crowd favorite. What a Time to Be Alive ends on its title track, a twilight-like and peaceful folk song featuring the fiddle of bluegrass player Nate Leath.
The new opus is perfectly summed up by frontman Zach Williams: “This record encapsulates everything we love and respect about each other. It’s a snapshot of the friendships we’ve built over the last decade-and-a-half, of how far we’ve come and how much we’ve grown.”
The Lone Bellow are currently on tour—check all the dates on their website. https://www.thelonebellow.com/tour
Enjoy some of our previous coverage here: REVIEW: The Lone Bellow “Love Songs For Losers” Is Relatable To All Of Us
What a Time to Be Alive (CREDITS): Producer: Brian Elmquist; Engineer: Christian Paschall, Daniel McKenzie, and Peter Barbee; Vocal Production: Peter Barbee, Tyler Geertsma, and Kanene Pipkin; Mixing: Christian Paschall; Mastering: Dave McNair; Distribution: Thirty Tigers.