Although he’s sure to dismiss such praise with a shrug, Todd Snider is an undeniable legend in American roots music. Since his 1994 debut, the Nashville antihero has been releasing albums that have both challenged and invigorated country, folk, and Americana. His 2004 LP “East Nashville Skyline” is regarded as a pillar of alt-country. The 2008 EP “Peace Queer” stands as expert political commentary. And 2012’s “Agnostic Hymns and Stoner Fables” earned rave reviews for sharply dissecting life in an inequitable America.
His new album “High, Lonesome and then some”, his first studio LP since 2023, is slated for release on 17th October. The single co-written with Chris Robinson, ‘While We Still Have A Chance‘ is out now, and whilst acknowledging the release, he also acknowledges the fact that, remarkably, he’s still here. Throughout his career, Todd has seemingly studied at the feet of songwriting visionaries like Kris Kristofferson, Jimmy Buffett, Guy Clark, John Prine, and Jerry Jeff Walker. Now, with all those greats gone, it appears he has found himself as something of a torchbearer for their type of live-it-to-learn-it songwriting, and has mentored artists from Hayes Carll to Sierra Ferrell. He has also had to navigate health issues, broken business relationships, and a lifetime of failed romances, not to mention immense grief over the loss of his friends and mentors. He comments, “I sing about dead friends more than girls these days. I’ve never gotten to stop and go, ‘I can’t believe I got away with that, but I did. I never did anything I didn’t want to do. And I’m proud of that. I just figured I’d be living in someone’s garage my whole life.”
Produced by Aaron Lee Tasjan, Robbie Crowell, and Joe Bisirri, the album is a stripped-down, juke-joint album of nine tracks. “I wanted us to sound like we’re so high that people think we should speed up,” Snider says of the recording process.
Tasjan, who modeled his early career on Snider’s, says he’s always wanted to learn his particular songwriting skills. “I thought that perhaps getting to work with him on an album would be the perfect opportunity I’d been waiting on for 20 years to understand how he really does it. But do you know what I learned?” Tasjan says. “I learned that Todd Snider is a real, actual magician. And there would be no tricks. There was just Todd Snider and his real magic.”
The album is divided into two distinct parts: On side one, Snider pleads his case to someone for one more try, and to accompany him to Reno, Nevada — a trip that ultimately goes poorly. “It’s the idea of, ‘This is the life we’ve chosen, so let’s go out swinging,’” Todd says. On side two, the perspective shifts from himself to songs about the person he’s addressing, working through all kinds of baggage along the way. “I had a list of girls that I wanted to talk to,” he says matter-of-factly, “that I owed an explanation to.”
Ultimately, by the album’s end, Snider finds someone new and essentially tells them, “Hey, this is who I am, and if you’re still up for it, let’s go.” Where? Back to Reno, of course. “I meet a girl and tell her about my past, and what she’s getting herself into. Then we’re going to Reno — and hopefully the pattern doesn’t repeat itself,” he says. “The album is really a song cycle about the effects of love on the human condition.” The album can be preordered here.
