For decades, Bramblett explored the deep corners and outer orbits of American roots music, creating a southern sound that's every bit as eclectic as its maker. That sound reaches a new milestone with Bramblett's thirteenth record, Paradise Breakdown. In discussing his work, Randall says, "My songs are vignettes about everyday joy and pain that came to me over the last few years. An awareness of mortality and the fragility of life has settled in me, and all these songs have grown from those feelings. All the players brought their brilliant skills and love for this music into the sessions. The songs grew from my basement demos into beautiful pieces of a big, years-long puzzle. We called this record Paradise Breakdown because it has the feel of beauty and hope running up against pain and loss."
About the new single, "Round and 'Round The Sun," Bramblett said, "I overheard someone talking about a spiritual experience they had while driving. Their car filled up with light. This story evolved into a song about the possibilities of seeing a world full of beauty and peace. Maybe it's much sweeter than we knew."
Teaming up with legendary instrumentalists like Tom Bukovac, Steve Mackey, Nick Johnson, and producer/drummer Gerry Hansen, Bramblett cooked up his melting pot of urban swamp-soul and modern roots music in an East Nashville studio. Once those sessions wrapped up, he returned to Athens, Georgia, to finish the record with Seth Hendershot, A.J. Adams, Tom Ryan, and Nick Johnson. The result is a mix of organic performances and electronic textures: an album built for roadhouse dance floors, dark, lonely corners, and the long ride from past to present.
Bramblett is no stranger to accolades; The New York Times declared: "Bettye Levette's Grammy-nominated album contains a set of songs by Randall Bramblett. LaVette sings about humankind as a flawed creation — "You gotta stop and wonder/Baby, why were you born?"— over a sputtering, tumbling Afrobeat groove, anchored like Fela's music by a burly baritone saxophone. Every rasp and break in her voice sounds like one more obstacle overcome." Associated Press concurs, "Imagine a world where musicians play concerts: These songs would have folks on their feet," and Rolling Stone effuses, "Randall Bramblett is one of the South's most lyrical and literate songwriters.
Bonnie Raitt opened her Grammy-winning album Slipstream with his composition "Used to Rule the World" in 2012. The Blind Boys of Alabama covered his song "Almost Home" on their own Grammy-nominated record several years later. Blues legend Bettye LaVette took things a step further, recording 11 different Bramblett compositions on her 2024 Grammy-nominated record LaVette! , dubbing him "the best writer that I have heard in the last 30 years.".
Paradise Breakdown offers more than the soulful, sobering reflections of a road warrior willing to look at the blacktop stretching out behind him; it's also a snapshot of a man still in motion.
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