Lonesome River Band Takes Up the Murder Ballad With “Outside Looking In” (premiere)

“Outside Looking In” is the latest single from legendary bluegrass outfit, Lonesome River Band. The track serves as the titular cut from the group’s new LP, which arrives 24 May. Vocalist/guitarist Brandon Rickman calls the song, “a new twist on a murder ballad that screams Lonesome River Band. I love the way this turned out.”

Featuring soaring fiddle from Mike Hartgrove and buoyed by Sam Shelor’s crystalline banjo lines, the cut is an eerie, Gothic-esque composition with a lyrical hook that leaves the listener contemplating the song’s complex narrative long after the final notes have rung out. The longstanding band, rounded out by bassist Barry Reed and mandolinist Jesse Smathers, proves it mastery of the bluegrass idiom and its ability to move the listener with simplicity and truth.