After a long hiatus, Portland-and-Colorado-based jamgrass outfit Sassparilla return with their eighth album under their belt, Honey, I’m Using Again. The fifteen(!) new songs, recorded in bandleader Kevin Blackwell’s basement, are characterized by a warm sound in which the banjo and other acoustic instruments create an intimate live atmosphere. This feeling is further enhanced by the frayed and unvarnished vocals that carry late-night confessions you weren’t meant to overhear, with a Southern-gothic chill.

There’s an undeniable sense of earned wisdom here, both musically and lyrically. This is a record about the reckoning that comes with time, with relapse, addiction, and survival as central threads: “I’m counting // My blessings // I’m nothing more than this” (from standout track One Morning). We look back at wrecked love affairs, dead friends, and missed chances, like rolling stones from a heavy heart. Packed in minimal chords, generating maximum impact.

Honey, I’m Using Again—written and produced by Kevin Blackwell—is out now digitally via In Music We Trust Records. Featuring Kevin Blackwell (lead vocals, guitar, banjo, fiddle, harmonica, drums), his 13-year-old son Emmett Blackwell (drums), long-time collaborators Doug Ebert (upright bass, backing vocals) and Dan Power (acoustic guitar, backing vocals), with Nama Muntal (backing vocals), and Ross Macdonald (harmonica).

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