CD Central is proud to host Ian Noe in an exclusive in-store acoustic performance and album signing on Friday, March 25 at 5 p.m. Space is limited and everyone who pre-orders a copy of the vinyl and CD at our online shop will receive priority admission. Ian will sign your album right before the show. IMPORTANT: If you plan to attend the show and have your album signed, please specify “In-Store Pickup” on the checkout screen (otherwise your copy will be mailed).
Album info:
Thoughtfully and intentionally named, River Fools and Mountain Saints highlights Noe’s storytelling prowess through 12 country rockers and Appalachian ballads, depicting contemporary and historical life in the region. Broader in scope and brighter in tone than his lauded debut, 2019’s Between the Country, River Fools and Mountain Saints boasts a fuller sound with more diverse instrumentation.
The album was recorded on reel-to-reel tapes in short spurts over the course of two years, without the pressure of time, which enabled a wider range of experimentations, collaborations, and sounds. As a result, River Fools and Mountain Saints switched from rocking like Creedence Clearwater Revival to intoning like John Prine or Tom T. Hall; it swaggers with keys on on songs like “Pine Grave (Madhouse),” bursts with French horn bombast “On More Night,” and swells with orchestrated strings on the gutting closing ballad, “Road May Flood/It’s A Heartache.” Despite being written in quarantine and in the wake of natural disasters, River Fools and Mountain Saints remains a positive record. Noe maintains it’s about good moments growing up in a hard place. But most importantly, it’s about music as redemption, romanticism, and release.
