Eric Brace & Thomm Jutz – Simple Motion (Red Beet Records, 2024)
Eric Brace & Thomm Jutz recently released their debut album, Simple Motion, under Red Beet Records. Despite having collaborated extensively with Peter Cooper and performed hundreds of shows together over the past decade, this album represents a new chapter for the duo.
Both artists arrived in Nashville over 20 years ago; Brace from Washington, D.C. with his acclaimed band Last Train Home and Jutz from Germany. Their career paths led them to establish Red Beet Records and garner recognition as prolific songwriters and musicians.
Following Cooper’s passing in December 2022, Brace and Jutz found themselves contemplating their next steps. The answer came naturally: to continue making music. Thus, Simple Motion was born, comprising 14 tracks that reflect both the joys of life and the depths of loss experienced in recent years.
The album presents a range of musical arrangements, including intimate, engaging, acoustic, American folk performances featuring just the duo. In adiditon, you’ll find lively, upbeat, full-band bluegrass compositions featuring talented musicians such as Mark Fain, Lynn Williams, Tammy Rogers, Richard Bailey, Justin Moses, Mike Compton, and Jeff Taylor.
Each track tells a story or explores a theme, from the historical context of wheat cultivation in “Frost on the South Side” to the introspective musings on existence in “Burn.” The album’s diversity is evident in songs like “Just a Moment,” inspired by a neighborhood talent show during the pandemic, and “When London Was the World,” which explores themes of intolerance and resistance.
To Brace and Jutz, Simple Motion is not just a collection of songs, but a reflection of life’s complexities, expressed through music that resonates with both vitality and melancholy. With this album, Bthe two artists invite listeners to immerse themselves in the rich depths of human experience, finding solace and inspiration in the beauty of their melodies and lyrics.
Musicians: Eric Brace on vocals and acoustic guitar; Thomm Jutz on vocals and acoustic guitar; along with bassist Mark Fain; drummer Lynn Williams; fiddler Tammy Rogers; banjo players Richard Bailey and Justin Moses; mandolinist Mike Compton; and accordionist and piper Jeff Taylor.
Buy Simple Motion.
Author: Ryan Emmert
