Quality collaborations add value to heartfelt slice of Appalachian country.
“The Narrow Way” is the final act in a trilogy that began with 2020’s “The Wild Frontier”. Since the release of follow-up album “Peace Mountain” (2023), Nicholas Jamerson has been spending his time working on an album that explores the challenges of living a purposeful life whilst holding onto the faith and integrity that are cornerstones of the musician’s existence.
Produced by Rachel Baiman and featuring collaborations with Baiman, Ketch Secor (Old Crow Medicine Show), Tim O’Brien, Shelby Means, and sister Emily Jamerson, “The Narrow Way”weaves together vivid imagery and poignant themes of family, nostalgia, resilience, and redemption.
The roots of his life, born into a musical family in eastern Kentucky, are evident throughout the piece. From the very first vocals, Jamerson exposes those roots with a voice that oozes Appalachian country. That opening track, ‘Smoking Gun’, with its subdued acoustic accompaniment, showcases a fine vocal range that drips with sincerity and emotion.
What follows is an album unashamedly proud of those country roots, both in sound and subject matter. Family and faith are recurrent themes, and Jamerson is never better than when, like that opener, he lets that vocal be the dominant force on pared-back ballads. ‘Running Out Of Daylight’ ponders the limitations and the pulls on our time, both day to day and over a lifetime, and is decorated to perfection with Secor’s sublime and mournful fiddle.
Secor features again on ‘Prater Creek’, while Jamerson’s sister Emily duets on another gorgeous slice of nostalgic family life on ‘Sunday Dinners’. It is a highly affecting collaboration, and Jamerson’s incorporation of these collaborations is a real feature of the album. Producer Rachel Baiman provides vocals on ‘How Sunday Feels’, Shelby Means gets the co-credit on ‘One With You’, while the great Tim O’Brien shares vocals and adds mandolin on ‘Working Man’.
While these collaborations add significant value to the album, these musicians’ constant input, added to a number of others who feature throughout, are a perfect match for Jamerson’s vocals. Expertly arranged and elegantly executed, it is a record built around eminently engaging melody and Jamerson’s soaring voice. “The Narrow Way” is clearly written from the heart; the heart of both Jamerson and his Appalachian home. His is, ultimately, an optimistic message garnered from his undoubted faith and love of family.
