I was surprised, perhaps even shocked, to learn that It Runs Deep is the Garrett Boys’ debut album. This collection of deeply rooted and deeply personal songs is one of the best old time Americana records I’ve heard in some time.
The Garrett Boys are brothers Stephen Garrett (acoustic guitar and lead vocals), Russell Garrett (bass and vocals) and Stephen’s son Carter (mandolin and vocals). They’re rooted on some 500 hilly, wooded acres in Overton County, east Tennessee that’s been in the family for many generations. That Appalachian land and that heritage has shaped these musicians and every word and sound in each of these songs.
Credit is due, I’m sure, to producer Ray Kennedy, who’s worked with Steve Earle and Lucinda Williams among many others, for shaping this debut into such a striking document. And kudos also to Steve Earle, who guests on vocals and harmonica on the opening track and lead single “Back Home,” which celebrates the feeling of a prodigal son returning to where he came from after seeing enough of the world.
But with all due respect, they do just fine on their own, with some friends adding some fiddle, Dobro, drums and such, as is immediately clear on the second track, the fast bluegrassy shuffle “Back To Akron,” in which a young man leaves the security of a factory job to get back to the land and his woman. The title song “It Runs Deep” is their paean to their land, family, and music. If this doesn’t get some glossy country covers I’ll be shocked. Another toe-tapping bluegrass type song (with the addition of drums which the purists will frown on), is “Who I Am,” which continues the theme of identifying with the land and family heritage.
“Wildcat Whiskey” has some great dirty slide guitar in its deeply grooved shuffle. Likewise, “Drag In The River,” which has some great vocal harmonies; I’m still not sure what happens to the protagonist in this one, whether he escapes a situation or life itself.
You don’t have an Appalachian record without some ballads, and there are some fine ones here, largely on rather harrowing themes. “Ride The Timber Down” follows a young man in one of the most dangerous of dangerous jobs in the mountains, taking logs down a river. “Pond Ridge” is a brutal tale of witnessing a lynching. Those are balanced by the sweet tale of a couple of salt of the earth types whose elopement turns into a long life together, “Ballad of Ed & Peg.” The album ends on a somber note, with the singer lamenting very hard economic times in the quiet folk song “God Forsaken Town,” the acoustic guitar and bowed bass the only accompaniment of the lovely three-part harmonies.
There’s lots of sentiment — in fact you could say it runs deep — on this record, but it just doesn’t slide over into sentimentality. The Garrett Boys turn in unerring sharp lyrics, focused playing, excellent singing and top-notch arrangements on their amazing debut.
(self-released, 2026)
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