Description
Label Review.
2019 album. Americana.
Our Overview.
The Orphan Brigade - a community of artists and musicians based in Nashville - was founded by Ben Glover, Neilson Hubbard and Joshua Britt originally for what they assumed was a one off project for their first album ’Soundtrack To A Ghost Story’ but after touring Italy in 2016 this side project evolved into a solid band. And now The Orphan Brigade are releasing ‘To The Edge Of The World’ their third studio album.
The raw, windswept beauty of the Antrim Coast in Northern Ireland has inspired adventurers and artists, alike, for centuries. Because the land, itself, is wild and rugged, the telling of its tales must harness that same power, so it’s no wonder that the Orphan Brigade’s ‘To the Edge of the World’ echoes and pulses with the freedom and daring, howls and hope that so many have felt where the lushly pastoral land meets the rocky, unforgiving sea.
Having tapped into the gothic madness of a haunted house in southern Kentucky and the mystical heart of the Templar caves underneath Osimo, Italy, the Orphan Brigade’s Joshua Britt, Ben Glover, and Neilson Hubbard returned to Glover’s Irish homeland for their latest collaborative exploration of the spirit and history, fact and fiction that make up a place.
In keeping with their previous album exploits, the trio grabbed their gear and spent a week writing the songs on various coastal locations, cliff edges, castle ruins and even at sea aboard a fishing boat.
What they wrote in the wild, they recorded in St. Patrick’s Church of Ireland in Glenarm, a site of worship since a Franciscan friary was established there in 1465. With a handful of masterful Irish musicians joining the ever evolving creative fray, the Orphan Brigade have returned with a doggedly untamed, yet deeply compassionate testament to County Antrim in 'To the Edge of the World.'
The album features a special guest appearance by John Prine on ‘Captain’s Song (Sorley Boy)’. Neilson Hubbard got his start as a singer/songwriter in the mid --’90s, releasing six solo albums. However, it’s his more than two decades as a producer that have not only put Hubbard on the musical map, but also landed him a 2019 Grammy nomination thanks to his work on Mary Gauthier’s Rifles and Rosary Beads.
Moving to Nashville in 2009 allowed Ben Glover to not only become steeped in the American roots music and culture he’d studied as a kid, but to also become part of the town’s deeply creative community, which lead to co writing with artists such as Kim Richey, Mary Gauthier, and Gretchen Peters. His collaborative work with Peters along with his most recent solo release, Shorebound have earned him top song and album awards, respectively, from the Americana Music Association UK.