Pedal steel guitarists tend to be the mad scientists of roots music, stationed at the back of the stage as they fiddle over a complicated instrument few know how to wrangle. The mere fact
Spencer Cullum has stepped forward as a solo artist sets him apart from the average Nashville pedal steel player (as does the fact he was born in England), and that he's delivered music that falls so far out of the boundaries of country music makes it all the more impressive.
Cullum's first solo effort, 2021's
Spencer Cullum's Coin Collection, was a charming and engaging blend of British folk, psychedelic pop, and the user-friendly side of prog rock, and 2023's
Spencer Cullum's Coin Collection 2 follows a similar path. The whimsical side of mid-'60s British pop takes a bigger part of the stage this time out, and the mix of vocals is richer, with
Cullum's slightly foggy British accent burnished by female accompaniment from
Caitlin Rose,
Erin Rae, and
Annie Williams, as well as some Japanese-language interjections from
Yuma Abe.
Cullum has chosen his collaborators wisely, and the jazzy clarinet on "Out of Focus," the
Mike Oldfield-esque guitars and keys on "The Three Magnets," and the tape-loop keyboards that appear throughout bring out the best in
Cullum's playfully sophisticated melodies and entertainingly impressionistic lyrics. If anything is in short supply here, it's
Cullum actually playing the steel (though it does bob in and out on "Kingdom Weather," which also includes some of the best
Richard Thompson-style electric guitar not played by Mr. Thompson himself), but if the purpose of this album was to give him a chance to show off the talents he doesn't get to use in his day job, then that certainly makes sense, and what he does deliver is thoroughly satisfying from first track to last. It's good that
Miranda Lambert keeps
Cullum gainfully employed playing pedal steel with her road band, but
Spencer Cullum's Coin Collection 2 shows there's a one-of-a-kind talent lurking in the backline who deserves and demands a place in the spotlight. ~ Mark Deming
