Oliver Anthony to Release Dave Cobb-Produced Debut Album on Easter Sunday
variety.comChris Willman Senior Music Writer and Chief Music Critic Oliver Anthony, the Appalachian singer who had the biggest out-of-nowhere viral hit in years in 2023, announced Friday that he will be issuing his debut album, “Hymnal of a Troubled Man’s Mind,” on Easter Sunday.
The collection was produced by the biggest name in the production of roots-oriented music, Dave Cobb, famous for his work with Chris Stapleton, Brandi Carlile and Jason Isbell as well as film projects such as “Elvis” and “The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes.” Notably, the album does not include the polarizing anthem that put Anthony on the map, “Rich Men North of Richmond.” But it includes many of the other songs that the singer has put out since then, newly re-recorded in the studio with Cobb.
Of the 10 songs included on the new record, nine were previously released in some form, many in the field-recording format that served Anthony well with “Rich Men,” and now have a fresh audio sheen, without much in the way of additional arrangement.
A tenth song is a previously unheard song, “Momma’s Been Hurting.” Appropriately, perhaps, for an album released on a major religious holiday, but still highly unusual for any commercial release, “Hymnal” features Anthony reciting biblical verses between songs.
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