With a summer tour already underway and a fresh batch of songs rolling out this year, Leon Majcen’s latest single is a sign—
Leon Majcen in session with producer Andrew Boullianne. Photo by Rachel Weber.
—we A have lot to look forward to.
It’s been almost two years since Leon Majcen’s last release, 2021’s single “World Gone By,” a well crafted low-fi folk arrangement that continued the momentum of his 2020 LP. That song is so good, and the recording has so much life to it, that it might surprise fans new to Majcen that he hasn’t followed it up until this year. For Majcen fans, we know better.
Part of what makes Majcen so special is that he’s not one of those songwriters who is just writing to release music. Despite the light-hearted feel of this latest single, Majcen is a deeply thoughtful writer, only producing material when there’s real inspiration, real emotion, and something he needs to say.
In an upcoming interview with Song Divers podcast Majcen reflects on much of what he’s felt and reflected on over the past few years. He’s still an objectively young artist, but he’s not the same bright-eyed and bushy tailed kid, twanging beyond his years anymore. He still has that mischievous twinkle in his eyes, but his aura has started to take on more character and charm. He’s put in a lot more miles since we last heard from him, and he’s all the better for it.
Those miles include relocating to Nashville, which makes a lot of sense when you hear his latest release, “Separate Ways,” the first of a welcome flood of upcoming new music that Majcen has been methodically working at over the past 18 months. While his home base has migrated north, his writing roots have retained their southern stylings, even leaning a bit southwest.
“Separate Ways” feels big but not heavy. There’s a big-sky and wide-open quality to it. Despite lyrical content that plays like an internal dialogue, reflecting and arguing about conflicting wants and desires, the writer sounds resolute, decidedly committed to the call of the road, and maybe even rejuvenated by it. He hints at fighting down feelings of guilt while seemingly reassuring his inner circle that he’s not leaving them for good.
While Majcen has long been a proud acolyte of many great country and folk songwriters like Townes Van Zandt, this latest single feels like both a shift and an evolution in his stylings. The track calls to mind more modern artists like Lord Huron, Jamestown Revival, the Cactus Blossoms, and Sturgil Simpson. You can hear the Nashville influence woven in throughout the track, a pedal steel adding a lot to the sonic pallet. It colors the track like an aurora in the vast sky Majcen has painted for us with this arrangement. The flagrantly country-music tool doesn’t feel like a trope for a single second; It’s superb. Hats off to Pat Lyons, who made the time to join this track in between touring with Colter Wall.
Some familiar collaborators are back, including engineer Andrew Boullianne bringing Majcen’s songs to life in the way we’ve come to love and expect from his earlier work. Boullianne continues to be increasingly in-demand, and it’s a testament to the quality of Majcen’s song craft that Boullianne is still so dedicated to his material.
Leon Majcen at Blackbird Recording Studios, Nashville, TN.
Another familiar sound and face for Majcen fans is artist/producer Liam Bauman, playing guitar on the tune. This publication has covered his work before, and are thrilled anytime he contributes to a project. Bauman co-produced the song with Boullianne, yet another sign of the reputation Majcen’s building for himself in the industry.
Kenny Costa is a newer entrant to the Majcen-verse, but a very welcome one. Leon and Kenny met while attending Sad Songs Summer Camp, hosted by The Milk Carton Kids up in Big Indian, NY. Costa is a unique and gifted musician, contributing bass here and on several other upcoming tracks to be released this year. He was part of a session we covered for another artist and watching him work was pure surprise and delight.
“Separate Ways” is the perfect single to begin the journey Majcen has ahead of him on this next batch of material and touring. It’s fresh, fun, comforting, and never campy. We fell in love with the song when we saw him perform it during the Folk Rock Revival Summer concert series in May, with Mercy McCoy as his backing band, and we’ve been anticipating its arrival over the airwaves ever since.
We’re really enjoying the new song, and are that much more excited to know there’s more Leon Majcen coming soon.
After 2 years of waiting for your new material, I think fans will agree: Leon, “You know that [we] can’t live without you, babe.”
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Separate Ways, June 2, 2023
Written by Leon Macjen
Produced by Andrew Boullianne, Liam Bauman
