Saranac Lake’s nubble may have formed in 2023, but the band’s sound is as rustic, sturdy, and timeless as an Adirondack hunting cabin. On their debut record, Nuggets, the folk quartet conjures up a simultaneously sepia-toned and realistic vision of life in the North Country.
And while the album’s scatological cover art might suggest this collection’s songs are simply the droppings of a fun live act, in its finest moments Nuggets has a swinging looseness that puts it in the pantheon of other great folk acts associated with New York State. Fans of The Felice Brothers, The Basement Tapes, The Holy Modal Rounders, minor-key dirges, and campfire singalongs should find plenty to like here.
nubble is Gene Baritot (vocals, guitar), Edek Falkowski (banjo, fiddle, vocals), Christian Eggleston (bass, vocals), and Chris Radey (drums, vocals).
Baritot’s vocals, particularly on the lengthy cut “Tuscon”, bear more than a passing resemblance to the heartfelt indie-folk stylings of Pinegrove’s Evan Stephens Hall, and I mean this as a very good thing. Baritot’s singing is raw, emotional, and stylish. Baritot also sounds simultaneously archaic and alt-folk. I know that doesn’t make a ton of sense, but I have a hunch he’s as interested in Elliott Smith as he is Folkways.
It’s in nubble’s indie and grunge leanings that the group defies easy categorization — this isn’t civil-war beard reenactment music, but a fresh take on the folk genre by musicians with wide interests. Opening track “Another Grunge Song” sounds exactly like its title — like an outtake from Pearl Jam’s MTV Unplugged. The indie/alternative/grunge creeping in at the edges of the folk on Nuggets reminds me of one of my favorite Upstate New York band’s ever from the early 2000s, The Kamikaze Hearts (one day that Capital Region group’s work will get the deluxe vinyl reissue/rediscovery treatment it deserves).
At times, Nuggets does feel a little overwrought, a little too long, a little-under produced, and a little poorly mixed. Drum fills are bit too loud (see “Don’t You”), the guitar is often buried in the mix, and the vocal blend doesn’t always result in mountain harmony. That said, underneath it all, the songs are really pretty solid. I found many of the tracks lodged in my head for days, particularly the uptempo “Ghosts” (apparently written about an old tuberculosis cure cabin in Saranac Lake). “Ghosts” features some really nimble-fingered banjo work from multi-instrumentalist Edek Falkowski. Falkowski’s picking on the banjo and atmospheric fiddle bowing are certainly highlights on the album –while Baritot is my preferred vocalist in the group, Falkowski feels like the folk backbone.
The too-relatable “Buzz Away, Black Fly” is another nod to the realities of Adirondack life. The minor key dirge takes the black fly problem of the north woods and gives it a metaphorical: “buzz away Black Fly, you’re suckin’ on my soul”.
If nothing else Nuggets, which was released for streaming on Bandcamp and Spotify back in October, serves as an outstanding primer for a band I very much want to see live. Their minimalist anthem “Don’t Look Back” has one of those great “Ain’t No More Cane” singalong choruses that is as clever as it is anthemic: “If we didn’t have such a pile of stuff / We wouldn’t have to go very far / Just cut it in half /And don’t look back / Back into the trunk of your car. Words like that might make me look a little harder at the pile of records, books, and detritus surrounding me as I type these words. While I’m unlikely to change my hoarder tendencies, this song, which has been on repeat and is my recommended track here, will likely influence me to get out to a nubble show so I can singalong from the audience on this one.
Catch nubble as part of Saranac Lake’s Winter Carnival for Bloody Mary Sunday at Saranac Lake Waterhole on February 15. In the meantime, listen to Nuggets on Bandcamp.
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