Josiah and the Bonnevilles have announced that he has signed with Rounder Records and will release the new album, As Is, on May 8th. The 10-song collection was co-produced by Josiah Leming and Konrad Snyder, and marks the first full-length album release since the 2023 breakthrough Endurance. The announcement arrives with the release of the official video for the album’s first single, Hell Without The Flames. The album is available for pre-order here.
The video for the single was directed by George Gallardo Kattah and filmed in Bogota, Colombia, and is a moving portrait of the type of working-class people lead singer and writer Josiah Leming was surrounded by as one of nine siblings growing up in Morristown, TN. As a child, he was intently aware of his community, something he thinks about even more in these trying times. “I look at my folks in East Tennessee, and few of them seem to be winning in this new world,” Leming says. “Being a regular person, working, trying your best. I think that’s something to be proud of.”
Leming has spent decades working at his craft, first learning piano at just 8 years old and writing his first songs at 13. As a teenager, he lived in his car and toured the country, performing for anyone who would listen, which led him to a major-label record deal at 19. When that ended, he began releasing music independently, relying solely on the music and his gift for crafting relatable songs, which led to a devoted fan base he calls the Bonnevilles. He appreciates them so much that he includes them in his artist name. “They’re the reason I’m able to make music,” he adds.
The ten songs that comprise As Is were whittled down from nearly 100 songs written over the last year and include co-writes with songwriters Natalie Hemby, Joel Little, and Scott Harris. Instead of reproducing the signature sound produced on Endurance, he decided to expand it. “I think it would have been hard to keep my excitement to go out on the road with another acoustic record.” The album finds him going more electric than ever before, even as he unplugs from the digital world. “I needed to work quietly away from the internet. I felt like it was important to pull back this last year and try to understand what’s on my heart. The only goal for me is to make something real and honest that can get people through the day,” Leming explains about his hope for As Is. “I gave everything I have for this album. I laid it all on the table, which is what I always want to do.”
As Is track list:
01) Good Boy
02) Carolina Heart
03) Hell Without the Flames
04) Going Gone
05) One Day at a Time
06) Youth and Dreams
07) Where It Starts
08) Mountain Girl
09) Redline
10) As Is
