Reimagined Nashville four-piece set out their stall for their new era.
Once upon a time, there was a band called Boy Named Banjo who released two albums independently before signing to Mercury Nashville and putting out an EP, Circles (2022), and a full-length album, Dusk (2023). Now signed to Rounder Records and with a new name, Breakfield have now put out their self-titled album.
Recorded in Nashville, produced by The 400 Unit’s Sadler Vaden and mixed by Matt Ross-Spang (Margo Price, John Prine), Breakfield is said to be more representative of the group’s live performance, which has seen them play major festivals like Bonnaroo and historic venues like the Grand Ole Opry.
“We were driving back from Sadler’s studio and talking about how we loved these new songs but how they didn’t really sound like Boy Named Banjo,” says vocalist, guitarist and harmonica player William Reames. “In a way, it’s crazy to change your name after 15 years, but over time the new music told us it was the right move.”
Breakfield formed in their teens, and the line-up comprises Reames, Barton Davies (vocals/banjo), Ford Garrard (bass) and Sam McCullough (drums). The album includes a handful of songs co-written with Vaden, but Breakfield have also gathered a batch of older but never-released material, reimagining each tune through the lens of their new approach.
The overall impression of the record on several listens is that it is an accessible set of tunes well played and sung, trending towards the more commercially focused end of americana. They describe their influences as “albums by The Jayhawks, Ray LaMontagne, and even the Brad Cook-produced records coming out of North Carolina right now”.
Canyon Walls opens the record with lush soft guitar chords and a banjo picking out a tune reminiscent of Waxahatchee’s last record. There are some nice harmonies on the chorus; otherwise it’s a straight-ahead pop-rock song. The second song, Angel 41, starts with a picked guitar before the rhythm and electric guitars drop in. The dynamics and harmonies recall the Jayhawks c. 1992.
Ever Loving Mind was one of the singles preceding the album’s release. The banjo line is back, but the most notable element is a wistful harmonica. The song rocks gently. Next up is Rivers Run, a riff on fatalism with a dash of loyalty and more Olson/ Louris style harmonies and phrasing. The outro sees guitars and banjo interweaving over the repeated “rivers gonna run” phrase from the end of the chorus.
The fifth song is Let A Good Thing Die, which has a funky rhythm, spiky guitar and melodic fiddle. The rhythm section and guitars roll into the chorus. We get a rocking guitar solo leading into the final verse-chorus. Travel On breezes in with an intro recalling Freddy Neil, a sense reinforced when the melody falls in. The song’s story arc is lost love and emotional and physical moving on. Instrumentally, it rolls on pedal steel and acoustic guitar.
Straight For Heartbreak is counted in before the guitar and harmonica- led verse begins. The chorus is down-the-line country rock punctuated by the odd whoop. Darker Out Tonight is more striking with a simple verse accompanied by acoustic guitar, although the chorus “it’s a little bit darker out tonight, I still see the end if I wanted someone to break my heart, I’d see you again”. The song has a false ending before crashing back in for a lightly frenzied outro.
Live By Me has a bouncy bass line which enlivens an otherwise pretty forgettable song. As the record moves towards the end, Pull Some Strings is a rumination on the comfort to be had from music after a breakup. The song has a steady beat from the drums while guitars and banjo provide the accompaniment to the tale.
Who Am I brings the first record of Breakfield’s new era to a close in a more acoustic vein, with the narrator’s self-perception defined by his lover; “the mirror in your eye means everything to me”.
Breakfield is, overall, a pleasant enough record, nicely played and sung, but ultimately lacking much by way of memorable songs to set it apart from everything else out there. Their following has been cultivated over the years by their live shows, and it may well be that seeing them in the flesh provides that individuality.
