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Forsythia, the latest studio LP offering from Caleb Caudle out 10/7/22 via Soundly
Music, is a portrait of his truest self, of the artist at his most solitary and reflective.
Thematically, it meets anticipation for the unknown future with nostalgia for the past,
and reconciles both with meditation in the present. The album was recorded at the
legendary Cash Cabin during the pandemic, and inspired by the solitude and symbols
Caudle found in nature during that time. It’s produced by John Carter Cash, and
features veteran session players Jerry Douglas, Sam Bush, Dennis Crouch and Fred
Eltringham, and the vocal talents of Carlene Carter, Elizabeth Cook and Sarah Peasall
McGuffey. Simplistic arrangements– in which Caudle was the only guitarist– built a
framework for space that is filled intentionally so that the songs themselves can be
heard and appreciated without an overcrowding of instrumentation. On this record,
outsider influences come into play nearly as much as his foundational knowledge of
traditional Appalachian folk and other music history. This collection of 10 songs serves
as a manifesto of Caudle’s beliefs and simplest desires. Forsythia sees Caudle as a
master of his craft as a songwriter and musician.
