Nero Simon and the Sunsetters first featured on this blog back in 2021 when their music was included in Jane’s Underground Folk round up, and she posed them some questions in a Q&A.

By Graeme Smith

We haven’t had the chance to share any more of them until now, and I’m getting my first taste of their sound thanks to their second album Waveland. It’s an album that could be loosely described as Americana, but the refreshing thing about the Sunsetters are that they do things a little differently.

While most Americana music is associated with the great tracts of inland countryside that the USA has to offer, Waveland turns its attention on the folk music of the coast. It’s named for the small coastal town in Mississippi, a place utterly devastated by Hurricane Katrina in 2005.

The album is very inspired by the town’s recovery as much as it is about its loss, something to which the band’s principle songwriter Nero Simon can relate. Over ten original tracks, his fighting spirit becomes evident. Album opener Sail On Silver Girl is a wonderfully vibrant scene setter. Tell Me encourages us to find love again after a broken heart. Moonlight (Getting It Right) speaks of the calm after a storm.

We are told stories of mermaids, soldiers of fortune and reflective sunsets. Spirited highs are contrasted by philosophical introspection. There are moments that take their time unfolding, with hypnotic grooves, spoken word storytelling and meandering solos. It’s truly a collection in which you can become immersed. Zanzibar Blues is a stunning case in point, combining the exotic with the earthy.

Closing the album is a cover of Gerry Rafferty’s Baker Street, and the band play proper homage to its iconic sax riff while bringing a touch of the Sunsetters flair to it.

Waveland is out now. You can buy a digital copy via the band’s Bandcamp page, and can stream it below.