Nick Shoulders- Refugia Blues
Refugia Blues, the fifth album from Nick Shoulders, is a record of big ideas and small, intimate moments. These nine songs are rooted in the stylings of Southern traditional music. Sparse, timeless, and unamplified, they're older than the sounds Shoulders saluted on albums like 2023's All Bad, with it's loud, whooping anthems for roadhouses and sweaty dancehalls. Here, Shoulders isn't shouting over a band. He isn't bringing a crowd to it's feet with dance-ready tempos. Rather, he's exploring another side of his craft by stepping up to a ribbon microphone as a solo performer, delivering each song with acoustic instruments and a voice that's equal parts country croon, Appalachian yodel, and high-lonesome field holler. As he explains it, Refugia Blues isn't just a call to action; it's a call to rest, too. "This is my Nebraska," he says, nodding to Bruce Springsteen's lo-fi acoustic record from 1982. "Some people listen to Bruce for the E Street Band and the big radio hits, but I like the intimacy and rawness of Nebraska instead. I'd like to think of Refugia Blues as a little window into the heart, as opposed to the drumbeat of a revolution." Shoulders' interpretation of American roots music has always been more progressive and punky than the trucks-and-beers conservatism that passes for modern-day country. Refugia Blues offers songs about climate collapse, radical anthropology, and generative disruption. It balances the macro with the micro, too, making room for love songs and personal topics, packaging humor alongside heavy insights. At once academic and accessible, Refugia Blues isn't just a deep dive into southernness, but also into Shoulders himself. This is a raw, resolute version of American country music, stacked high with songs that go down easy but linger in the minds of those willing to invest the time.
Track List
- Apocalypse Never
- Bored Fightin'
- Hill Folk
- Western Meta Sin
- Deux Hurry
- Sorrow Floats
- Dixie Be Damned
- Tatum Springs
- Diggin' Up Bones
UPC > 634457228146
Format > New Vinyl
Label > Gar Hole Records
Release Date > Release Date: 10.31.25
Shop online at Darkside Records.
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> Due to the current limited nature of music titles, ALL CD & Vinyl purchases are limited to ONE copies per customer, per item. If you place multiple orders for multiples of the same title, your subsequent orders will be canceled.
Format: New Vinyl/Country
Nick Shoulders- Refugia Blues
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Release Date: 10.31.25
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Refugia Blues, the fifth album from Nick Shoulders, is a record of big ideas and small, intimate moments. These nine songs are rooted in the stylings of Southern traditional music. Sparse, timeless, and unamplified, they're older than the sounds Shoulders saluted on albums like 2023's All Bad, with it's loud, whooping anthems for roadhouses and sweaty dancehalls. Here, Shoulders isn't shouting over a band. He isn't bringing a crowd to it's feet with dance-ready tempos. Rather, he's exploring another side of his craft by stepping up to a ribbon microphone as a solo performer, delivering each song with acoustic instruments and a voice that's equal parts country croon, Appalachian yodel, and high-lonesome field holler. As he explains it, Refugia Blues isn't just a call to action; it's a call to rest, too. "This is my Nebraska," he says, nodding to Bruce Springsteen's lo-fi acoustic record from 1982. "Some people listen to Bruce for the E Street Band and the big radio hits, but I like the intimacy and rawness of Nebraska instead. I'd like to think of Refugia Blues as a little window into the heart, as opposed to the drumbeat of a revolution." Shoulders' interpretation of American roots music has always been more progressive and punky than the trucks-and-beers conservatism that passes for modern-day country. Refugia Blues offers songs about climate collapse, radical anthropology, and generative disruption. It balances the macro with the micro, too, making room for love songs and personal topics, packaging humor alongside heavy insights. At once academic and accessible, Refugia Blues isn't just a deep dive into southernness, but also into Shoulders himself. This is a raw, resolute version of American country music, stacked high with songs that go down easy but linger in the minds of those willing to invest the time.
Track List
- Apocalypse Never
- Bored Fightin'
- Hill Folk
- Western Meta Sin
- Deux Hurry
- Sorrow Floats
- Dixie Be Damned
- Tatum Springs
- Diggin' Up Bones
UPC > 634457228146
Format > New Vinyl
Label > Gar Hole Records
Release Date > Release Date: 10.31.25
Shop online at Darkside Records.
Follow us on Instagram.
> Due to the current limited nature of music titles, ALL CD & Vinyl purchases are limited to ONE copies per customer, per item. If you place multiple orders for multiples of the same title, your subsequent orders will be canceled.