Michael Rudolph Cummings will issue his new solo album, You Know How I Get, on Oct. 21 through Ripple Music as the third installment of the label’s ‘Blood and Strings’ series of unplugged-style releases. Following on the heels of offerings by Scott “Wino” Weinrich (review here) and Tony Reed (review here), the erstwhile Backwoods Payback frontman and current drummer of the raw-no-rawer-than-that heavy punk outfit Boozewa is nothing if not in good company, but as the nine-song/29-minute collection makes plain, Cummings‘ position alongside those generational heavyweights is well earned in terms of craft and arrangement as, in an unflinchingly organic fashion, Cummings manifests influences from across a spectrum of rock songwriters.

He’s still a punk, after all, if a punk troubadour. You Know How I Get is mesmeric in its honesty, in the organ lines that make their presence felt early in “Cellar Times” and “Closer Than They Appear,” and in the atmosphere of intimacy cast in the recording, on which Cummings himself is by no means alone or inexperienced. Opener “Sunburn” introduces itself with just-strum minimalism, but then the drums, backing vocal layers, and keys kick in and a fluidity of verses and choruses that sets up the manner in which Cummings will on the rest of what’s to come pull together classic pop singer-songwriterism, contemporary ‘new-dude’ outlaw country folk — lookin’ at you, ramblin’ title-track — and ’90s-era emotive grunge heroics, Neil Young via Pearl Jam via Neil Young, with Nirvana, Unplugged in New York, to spare.

The songs are mostly short, with only three of the nine topping three minutes long, and that speaks to both Cummings‘ punker roots and a sing-with-me stripped-down folk simplicity. “Closer Than They Appear” — a well chosen lead single — rings churchy with its sustained organ notes and steady ’70s folk-rock roll, semi-harmonized vocals and all kept subtly moving by the drums beneath, answering the fragility of “Cellar Times” and finisher “Burning Harbors” with assurance of sure footing. “Got it Made” moves along with a Tom Petty casual bounce but is more introverted in its guitar and vocal, and album centerpiece “62 Westbound” — video premiering below directed by Courtney Gauger — has a broader drum echo in its toms and cymbal washes, and is plenty full-sounding for that, with a drone maybe of accordion coinciding with the soft singing and lightly noodled guitar. Yes, the track named for a road moves. It is linear, contemplative and, like a lot of You Know How I Get, melancholy.

In the beginning moments of “Sunburn” and with a bookend back in “Burning Harbors,” Cummings nods to his longtime affinity for self-recording to a 4-track tape machine — I don’t know how old some of these pieces are and indeed these two in particular have a rawness to their vocal that at very least imitates tape compression — but You Know How I Get is far and away the most elaborate solo release he’s had, and the individual cuts benefit from the attention to detail put into them, be it “Charles Doesn’t Lie,” which is relatively straightforward instrumentally, no drums, but layers the vocals to add presence as well as dynamic, or the penultimate “Goblina,” which is the longest inclusion at 5:47, based around electric guitar and building to a volume swell as it gradually moves into a particularly flannel-clad, heart-on-sleeve-tattoo payoff, leaving “Burning Harbors” as an epilogue but one that underscores the atmosphere and intimacy that Cummings has worked over the course of the record to maintain.

You Know How I Get manifests the clarity of purpose in Cummings‘ solo offerings like earlier 2022’s mRc EP (review here), but also goes back to 2014’s debut solo full-length, Get Low, at which point he toured with and performed as mRc and the Souvenirs — his first single was 2013’s “Maybe Time” (posted here), which would later be on the debut — so it seems appropriate to think he’s approaching these tracks a similar way. A primary difference is the scope of the production here, but also a maturity of the craft in general. There is a patience even to “Sunburn” as packed-tight as that song is that is a beacon of welcome for the weary, and that holds firm whether we’re riding down the Highway 62 in, let’s assume, Texas, or burning the harbors behind us on our way out. Lyrically, the perspective is likewise poised. Genuine, still searching, but experienced as well and unflinching from sharing what has been learned, likely the harder way.

That vibe, of lessons learned, is pervasive throughout You Know How I Get, and even in “62 Westbound,” lines like “Somewhere I have not been/I long to stay/Weeping in the palm trees/Springs remain,” know where they want to be and have a point of view able to step back and realize there’s more life to come. So much more, then, does Cummings convey his depth as a songsmith and performer than just on the surface. In that, it speaks directly to what has always been and remains one of the greatest strengths of Cummings‘ work. Along with, you know, all that performance and songwriting stuff.

Please enjoy:

Michael Rudolph Cummings, “62 Westbound” video premiere

ALBUM PREORDER: https://ripplemusic.bandcamp.com/album/you-know-how-i-get-blood-and-strings-the-ripple-acoustic-series-chapter-3

Video directed by Courtney Gauger (Instagram @corkytea).

East Coast-based folk and alt-country artist MICHAEL RUDOLPH CUMMINGS signs to Ripple Music for the release of his new solo album “You Know How I Get” as part the third chapter of their “Blood And Strings – The Ripple Acoustic Series” this October 21st.

Michael Rudolph Cummings is known for being the vocalist/guitarist for East Coast stoner grunge band Backwoods Payback. His solo material is equally dark but subdued in volume and temperance, recalling the ditch-trilogy era of Neil Young and the slower moments of Townes Van Zandt, while also hinting at more contemporary acts such as The White Buffalo.

His new album and Ripple Music debut “You Know How I Get” will see release in October 2022, as part of their revered acoustic series “Blood and Strings” (which previously featured stellar solo releases from The Obsessed’s Scott “Wino” Weinrich and Mos Generator’s Tony Reed). To support its release, Michael Rudolph Cummings will embark on a US tour with his solo band, the roster of which reads like a who’s who of east coast underground mainstays, literally some of the best players out there including Mel Parsonz of Royal Thunder, Patrick Shannon of All Else Failed and Mike Bardzik of The Boils.

Full dates are below and tickets for most are on sale now.

OCTOBER
20 – Animated Brewing, Coatesville PA
21 – Westside Bowl, Youngstown OH
22 – drkmttr collective, Nashville TN
23 – Hernandos Hide Away, Memphis TN
24 – The Nick, Birmingham AL
25 – Boggs, Atlanta GA
26 – Odditorium, Asheville NC
27 – Cobra Cobana, Richmond VA
28 – Century, Philadelphia PA
29 – Hart Bar, Brooklyn NY

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Tags: Michael Rudolph Cummings, Michael Rudolph Cummings You Know How I Get, mRc, Pennsylvania, Ripple Music, West Chester, You Know How I Get

This entry was posted on Thursday, September 1st, 2022 at 8:19 am and is filed under Bootleg Theater, Reviews. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.