For as long as they’ve been together, Bask have called Asheville, North Carolina home. But ever since they came rumbling down from the Land of the Sky, it was clear that these Southern trailblazers were cut from a different neck of the woods.

On their upcoming fourth album, the band take Heavy Americana to a whole new dimension. The latest single from “The Turning” revolves around ‘The Traveler,’ a mysteriously ageless gunslinger who refuses to go down amidst a mind-melting blaze of glory.

“This song introduces one of the main characters behind our new album”, Bask says. “You’re sure to be banging your head, just in 9/4”.

Bask continue to grow by literal leaps and conceptual bounds. ‘The Traveler’ takes off like an outlaw on the run with riffs that kick back harder than a double-barreled shotgun — only for the snare to come marching in like a prisoner being led to the gallows. “There’s nothing wrong with playing in 4/4”, drummer Scott Middleton admits, “but if you’re not exploring, then you’re missing out on a world of opportunity”.

Whereas Bask‘s previous treks were inspired by tall tales, “The Turning” spools forth from the most fantastical corners of their imagination. “When we started writing this album, the songs were twangy, but also spacier and more psychedelic than anything we’ve done before”, says vocalist and guitarist Zeb Wright, who is also the band’s lyrical guide. “And so I asked myself, ‘What does this feel like? What do all these things come together and make?”.

Following a retreat to Echo Mountain Recording with producer Kenny Harrington, they returned with the answer: a 40-odd minute, sci-fi opus that stretches not just across dimensions but generations in man’s never-ending quest for immortality.

In keeping in line with its far-out concept, “The Turning” truly straddles the line between cosmic and country. Just as the video for ‘The Traveler’ puts a surreal twist on the classic talk show format, the album’s latest single also introduces a colorful wrinkle in the form of Bask‘s newest member Jed Willis.

“These guys have become friends and brothers to me over the past decade or so”, Willis says. His pedal steel glows with all the natural beauty of a Harvest Moon above the song’s down-home melodies, though its dimension-hopping desperado needs help getting out of Dodge in order to avoid another run-in with the long, cold hand of fate.

“Don’t be frightened of me“. Wright belts with clean and clear conviction, though an organ-provoked premonition reveals that the intentions of ‘The Traveler’ aren’t so honorable. The doomy breakdown doesn’t the pit but an all-consuming black hole.

“We’ve been through so much together”, bassist Jesse Van Note reflects. “We were robbed in Sweden. A tire literally fell off our van while we were driving. During COVID, we didn’t get together as much. We’re also older now and there are challenges and responsibilities that come with that. I have two kids. Some of us have bought houses. We’ve all been through marriages and different relationships. For things to snowball on top of the band one after another, it kind of had us feeling like maybe this was the end of our era”.

While its story line is admittedly “out there”, “The Turning” does hit close to home. The album’s dwellings on family, aging, death and rebirth were cast in a deeper, darker light when Bask returned for mixing and mastering after Hurricane Helene reached Asheville.

‘The Traveler’ ends with its boots one step closer to the grave. But the band still ascend amongst the stars with a shredding solo that defies the laws of physics.

“Seeing this album finally come to light is therapeutic for us”, guitarist Ray Worth says. “The Turning is Bask at its finest. It’s our most cohesive and heartfelt effort, an ode to our mountain home in the sky”.

The video for ‘The Traveler’ was directed, filmed and edited by Eric Bader. It was produced and designed by Caroline Bader.

Additional video credits:

Joshua Robbins as The Host
Andy the Doorbum as The Magician
Erik Button as The Fox
Caroline Bader as The Witch
Henry Bader as The Child
The Puppet as Himself

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Photos: (c) Garrett Williams

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