When Steelism released their debut album 615 to FAME in 2014, they weren’t sure whether they would find an audience who shared their love for cinematic instrumental pieces inspired by composers like Ennio Morricone. But they needn’t have worried: The album was released to heaps of critical acclaim, and the Nashville duo — Jeremy Fetzer and Spencer Cullum Jr. — found themselves headlining shows after years of playing behind artists like Miranda Lambert and Caitlin Rose.
Three years later, Steelism has returned with ism, a sophomore album steeped in the eclectic influences of its predecessor but featuring newly confident writing and performances.
“We knew with this record that we wanted to do something different,” Fetzer tells the Scene. “I think with our first record, it was more us exploring what we could do with an instrumental band and what we could pull off. With [ism], it was more about making an album with a flow that felt like a soundtrack, so we wanted to incorporate singers into this one. So with the first one it was more what we could do with the band, and then with this one it was more about what we could do with the record.”
Though neither Fetzer nor Cullum sings on the album, the sonic signature the pair has crafted over the years is made stronger by guest appearances from some of the duo’s close friends, including local singers Tristen, Ruby Amanfu, Andrew Combs and Jessie Baylin. “Roulette” features Amanfu, and it’s dark and dramatic, with a noir-heavy arrangement lending the perfect backdrop to her sultry verses and powerful choruses. On “Shake Your Heel,” Tristen brings out the duo’s groovier, ’60s-indebted side, her ethereal croon punctuated by Fetzer’s percussive chord stabs.
“We chose the most talented friends we have and talked them into it,” Fetzer says. “It’s all people that we’ve worked with before in the past. Some of the songs began as instrumentals, and we would send them the melody and they would write lyrics to it. With the Ruby tune, we all sat together and worked on her vocal and the lyrics together. So there were different situations for each one. For the ‘Lonely Game’ song we just sent the melody to Andrew Combs, and he wrote the lyrics to that one.”
Writing tracks to fit ism’s album-length narrative was a new musical challenge for Fetzer and Cullum, but writing songs that made room for vocals was on another level entirely.
“It’s a lot harder,” Cullum says. “The phrasing of lyrics, making it a fit was new to us, especially with the Ruby song and the Tristen song.”
Ism producer Jeremy Ferguson of Battle Tapes Recording — who also worked with the duo on 615 to FAME — played an integral role in helping the group tackle these intriguing new complications. He also took a hands-on role in helping Fetzer and Cullum harness their myriad influences, which this time around include Brian Eno, Pink Floyd and Serge Gainsbourg.
“When we’re in the studio, we’re focused on the performance,” says Fetzer. “We don’t have to worry how the sonic landscape is, because [Ferguson is] taking care of all the sound parts.”
A handful of trusty players filled out the band. Robbie Crowell, who ended his seven-year tenure with Deer Tick this spring, helmed keys. In-demand session musician Jon Estes handled bass duties and contributed his own track — the haunting surf-rock tune “Anthem” — while Jon Radford filled out the rhythm section on drums.
“On this record we wanted them to be more involved,” Cullum says of the additional musicians. “Each of them has a track that they’ve written.”
For his track, Radford landed a solo from harmonica legend Charlie McCoy. Known for his work with the famed Nashville A-Team of session musicians from the ’60s and ’70s, McCoy was also a member of the group of studio aces Area Code 615, who recorded two mostly instrumental albums and to whom Steelism has been compared.
“Radford has played with Charlie before,” Fetzer says. “We’ve always been fascinated with him, because he was the original Nashville session guy. When we realized he still does session work, we hit him up and he played on six of the tunes on the record. He played vibraphone and harmonica throughout the record.”
Steelism’s tour in support of ism will include Thursday’s date at Mercy Lounge, which features a slew of guests who appeared on the album. While they’re some of the best instrumentalists around, don’t expect a jam session. As they’ve done so carefully on ism, Steelism likes to stick to their thoughtfully crafted sound in live performances, too.
“There’s definitely a little Grateful Dead monster in everyone in the band,” Fetzer says with a laugh. “But we just reel it back in and play the recording.”
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