Wait ’til you hear his crime album tentatively/hopefully coming next…
That’s how I closed my unsolicited, unofficial liner notes to Hunter’s debut album Stages & Phases a scant three months ago. I should’ve said wait until I hear his crime album.1 Of course I knew he had enough songs for another. Before the end of the year was never out of the question. The twist: five of these twelve tunes didn’t exist a scant three months ago.2 Previously I claimed “legit good” was an understatement when it came to Hunter’s songcraft. “Prolific” is up there too.3
Over the years I observed songs from the HCU4 tend to alternate between being family/relationship driven or dark crime ditties—occasionally dipping a toe into each pool simultaneously to great effect.5 Hunter calls this batch his Southern Gothic crime album, which nails it and would’ve been a decent title.6 A fugitive on the lam reflects on where he is and how he got there across a dozen dark, sad songs set in different places. There’s a lot of running, hiding, familial heartache, at least one actual crime, and some impressively funky underlying grooves paying tribute to the artist’s inspirational southern rock roots.7 The line between a criminal and someone just trying to get by is a fuzzy one. Or as what might be my favorite Hunter James lyric of all time tells it: “There’s good and bad, right and wrong. Then there’s me…”
Back when I wrote about the first record that scant three months ago, I said seeing songs I’ve known for years out in the world made me happy. That’s another understatement. “GBI” & “Clean” & “Cadillac Ford” & “Meet Again” have been dark, dark favorites of mine for a long, long time. Here they found a home (wherever that might be…) amongst some newer, equally great kindred favorites like “Running in the Daylight” & “Mystic”8 & “Change My Mind” in the HCU to form this criminally cohesive collection. Take these secrets with you to the grave.
Precedent says I’m supposed to predict what’s next for Hunter Bruce James as I wrap this up. Does he have a trifecta in him before the end of 2026? There’s one last corner of the HCU he’s teased but not fully explored on a focused release…9
Wait until y’all hear his “songs about songs” record, a genre near and dear to my heart.
FOOTNOTES
- I also should’ve said y’all instead of you. ↩︎
- For those keeping score at home, the opener and the final four are the newest parts. ↩︎
- Or should it be “down there” since it’s an understatement (and now a footnote)? ↩︎
- Hunter Cinematic Universe ↩︎
- See “Burn It Down” or “Cheers to Falling Away” ↩︎
- My suggestion was Fugitive’s Paradigm, partly because many of the songs are about a criminal on the run and partly an inside joke for another day. ↩︎
- Respect the greats! ↩︎
- “Mystic” finds a new level. I mistakenly thought it was a sequel to “Dandelion Rose” and “the business” in the lyrics was a florist shop. That was nowhere near accurate—but might’ve inspired a forthcoming JLC short story. ↩︎
- See “Lonely Always Makes A Better Song” or “The Newest Part” ↩︎
- The final cover is way better and fits the mood/theme perfectly. ↩︎