BY PIXIE HOCKER In 2023, Fust made a name for themselves and North Carolina with the release of their album Geneive . This release is ho...
BY PIXIE HOCKER
In 2023, Fust made a name for themselves and North Carolina with the release of their album Geneive. This release is how I became familiar with Fust, as it received acclaim from many outlets. They followed the anticipation of this release with their 2024 album, Songs of the Rail, which was more of a collection than an album, packed with 28 songs from the vault of Aaron Dowdy, the band’s lead singer. Fust intends to keep anticipation high with the rollout of their fourth album, Big Ugly, which comes out on March 7th via Dear Life Records.
What made me tune into Fust after reading reviews online was simply the fact that they were from North Carolina. I have lived in North Carolina my whole life but have only in the past few years become wise to how positively this state impacted my upbringing. And it was only through the music of North Carolina artists like Wednesday, Indigo De Souza ,and MJ Lenderman, all of which have members that have worked with Fust, that I was able to recognize my admiration. Big Ugly succeeds Genevieve as another perfect record that reads like a biography of the North Carolina experience.
The Carolina band recorded their fourth album at Drop of Sun Studios in the heart of West Asheville. After recording last summer, Fust did a surprise show at Eulogy, also located in Asheville, where they gave local fans a chance to hear a handful of songs from the unreleased album almost a year before its release. I was lucky enough to attend this show among several of their other concerts last year.
Three of the tracks from Big Ugly have been released as singles, “Spangled” and “Bleached,” both of which they played at Eulogy, as well as the last single from Big Ugly, “Mountain Language”. These singles acted as the perfect groundwork for the 2024 release. This record is a sequel to their definition of the North Carolina experience that feels so true to me. This record defines North Carolina as a diamond in the rough.
Big Ugly encapsulates the strength of spirit that is present in not only North Carolina, but the South as a whole. This album is a testament to the shared feeling of having something to prove that is present within most Southerners. Aaron Dowdy is a storyteller first and a musician second. While Fust has a riveting folk ensemble, Dowdy’s refreshing lyricism is what really connects Fust’s music with the Southern United States.
All of this being said, this album doesn’t only speak to the happenings of the South but also the familiar narrative of growing older. The act of growing away from your family but also what brings us back together. The overwhelming desire to move and expand being met by the force field of family and nostalgia.
Fust is among the definitive list of bands and artists that make me proud to have grown up in North Carolina. The narrative that Fust creates for the state with Big Ugly is so reflective upon the stories I have been told by relatives and reads to me as a historical telling of events.
Favorite Tracks: “Goat House Blues”, “Spangled,” and “Sister”
In 2023, Fust made a name for themselves and North Carolina with the release of their album Geneive. This release is how I became familiar with Fust, as it received acclaim from many outlets. They followed the anticipation of this release with their 2024 album, Songs of the Rail, which was more of a collection than an album, packed with 28 songs from the vault of Aaron Dowdy, the band’s lead singer. Fust intends to keep anticipation high with the rollout of their fourth album, Big Ugly, which comes out on March 7th via Dear Life Records.What made me tune into Fust after reading reviews online was simply the fact that they were from North Carolina. I have lived in North Carolina my whole life but have only in the past few years become wise to how positively this state impacted my upbringing. And it was only through the music of North Carolina artists like Wednesday, Indigo De Souza ,and MJ Lenderman, all of which have members that have worked with Fust, that I was able to recognize my admiration. Big Ugly succeeds Genevieve as another perfect record that reads like a biography of the North Carolina experience.
The Carolina band recorded their fourth album at Drop of Sun Studios in the heart of West Asheville. After recording last summer, Fust did a surprise show at Eulogy, also located in Asheville, where they gave local fans a chance to hear a handful of songs from the unreleased album almost a year before its release. I was lucky enough to attend this show among several of their other concerts last year.
Three of the tracks from Big Ugly have been released as singles, “Spangled” and “Bleached,” both of which they played at Eulogy, as well as the last single from Big Ugly, “Mountain Language”. These singles acted as the perfect groundwork for the 2024 release. This record is a sequel to their definition of the North Carolina experience that feels so true to me. This record defines North Carolina as a diamond in the rough.
Big Ugly encapsulates the strength of spirit that is present in not only North Carolina, but the South as a whole. This album is a testament to the shared feeling of having something to prove that is present within most Southerners. Aaron Dowdy is a storyteller first and a musician second. While Fust has a riveting folk ensemble, Dowdy’s refreshing lyricism is what really connects Fust’s music with the Southern United States.
All of this being said, this album doesn’t only speak to the happenings of the South but also the familiar narrative of growing older. The act of growing away from your family but also what brings us back together. The overwhelming desire to move and expand being met by the force field of family and nostalgia.
Fust is among the definitive list of bands and artists that make me proud to have grown up in North Carolina. The narrative that Fust creates for the state with Big Ugly is so reflective upon the stories I have been told by relatives and reads to me as a historical telling of events.
Favorite Tracks: “Goat House Blues”, “Spangled,” and “Sister”
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- PIXIE HOCKER
Pixie Hocker has loved music for as long as they can remember and has gone to more concerts than she can count. Pixie is the Music Director at her college station 90.5 WASU-FM and hosts a weekly specialty show at Boone Area Community Radio.
Read Pixie's posts here.
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