Nellen Dryden

Nellen Dryden makes old-school music for the modern world. It's her own version of analog Americana: a mix of vintage soul, southern R&B, and cosmic roots-rock, delivered by a songwriter who's never been afraid to blur the lines between genre and generation. Tracked straight to analog tape at the Bomb Shelter in East Nashville, her second album, Show Me The Way finds Dryden pulling triple-duty as songwriter, singer, and co-producer. She recorded the album in three inspired days, teaming up with a group of longtime collaborators and new faces, capturing each song with a handful of live-in-the-studio takes. Engineer and co-producer Andrija Tokic worked the tape machine. Lil Jack (The Raconteurs) played bass. Jo Schornikow (Phosphorescent) played organ, Dave Racine handled drums, and Jules Belmont — Dryden's longest-running musical partner, as well as her co-writer on the album's title track — played guitar. Together, the crew nodded to Dryden's influences while exploring new territory, too, from the Daptone-worthy soul and Sunday-morning gospel that fuels "On Your Side" to the Fleetwood Mac groove that runs beneath "Love Carry On." They recorded sharply-written love songs and R&B ballads worthy of Carole King. Most importantly, they emphasized the subtlety and emotional intensity of Dryden's new material, creating a sound that moved a little slower — but also dug deeper — than her previous record.