Rising Appalachia will release their seventh studio album Leylines on May 3. Sisters Leah Smith and Chloe Smith previewed the effort’s second single with an acoustic rendition of the traditional song, “Cuckoo.”
The outfit prepared two versions of “Cuckoo”: an acoustic live performance, as well the album’s less traditional version that drops on Friday. The acoustic performance comes via Paste with a simple video of Rising Appalachia in a train yard. In the clip, the pair is accompanied simply by a banjo, putting their tight vocal harmonies at the forefront.
The duo shared the following regarding the song:
“Cuckoo” is a traditional English folk song taught to us by our mother, and has been done by many folk singers throughout the times. We rewrote some of the words to include an homage to our godfather, Whitlock Connah, who was an incredible blues man and a huge influence in our musical life. We sing to his spirit one of the verses of this song, and call in his rowdy heart to carry us home. This version is an acoustic, back-alley duet. The full-throttle band version is on the new album, Leylines, and features double fiddle, baritone guitar, banjo, ngoni and world percussion.
Leylines was created in collaboration with producer Joe Henry, longtime collaborators David Brown and Biko Casini and newer band members Arouna Diarra and Duncan Wickel. Recorded over 10 days in Marin County, California, the 12-track collection also sports guest appearances from Ani DiFranco and Maurice Turner. To support the release, the group announced a handful of headlining performances in the West, which span from April through July.
Watch the acoustic performance of “Cuckoo” below:
