Album Review: Beulah by John Paul White

Opener "Black Leaf" offers White's lilting tenor sparsely accompanied by fingerstyle acoustic picking and an upright piano delivering the lyric: "So bitter, in my heart and in my mouth/She’s a quitter, but I guess we’re both quitting now. " "What's So" offers a harder rocking Delta blues intro before a murky waltz claims the tune's body as White delivers the foreboding chorus: "You don't get above your raising. " He gets downright nasty in the minor-key Americana of "Make You Cry," declaring “.

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Few bands have imploded in public in recent years quite as unexpectedly as the Civil Wars. There was a moment, around five years ago, when the Nashville-based duo appeared to have a glittering future ahead of them. Their debut album, Barton Hollow, had been released to critical acclaim, strong sales and a plethora of awards. The press seemed fascinated: by their music, by the breathless celebrity endorsements from Taylor Swift and Adele, and by the fact that Joy Williams and John Paul White’s live performances were attended by a certain are-they-or-aren’t-they? sexual frisson.

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