April 2019

The newest album from Judah & The Lion, Pep Talks, pressed on exclusive red vinyl! This double LP features an etching on side D. 

For Judah & the Lion, the last two years should’ve been the best of their lives as the Nashville band toured behind a powerful single and a genre-upending album, sharing stages with heroes and playing to oceans of fans. But as everything was coming together for them, singer-guitarist Judah Akers’ family was falling apart in a hail of alcoholism and affairs, death and divorce. From that tension comes Pep Talks, the trio’s third LP, and a hard left turn into deeply personal terrain. Knowing they had something new on their hands, Judah, Brian Macdonald (mandolin), and Nate Zuercher (banjo) took their time crafting a set of songs that not only shores up their one-of-a-kind sound—a heart-pounding whirl of folk, bluegrass, rock, hip-hop, and electronic production— but takes the listener on a bracingly candid, surprisingly anthemic journey from the kind of pain that tears your whole world apart to the sort of hard-won hope that can bridge the deepest of rifts. 

From our curator, Drew Holcomb:

I have known Judah and the Lion for since their infancy, and I don’t know of a band that is more true to themselves and capable of pushing musical and genre boundaries than them. Pep Talks is without question their most honest, intensely personal, reflective and epic album yet. When Judah sent me a link to the album, I walked around the neighborhood with my headphones on and listened to it three times in a row. I ran, I danced, I wept, and I went home full of joy and gratitude for these guys and the music they make. 

 

When I first heard their last album, Folk Hop N Roll, I didn’t know what to think of it. And honestly at times I thought they had been too genre-pushing, wondering if they would alienate their folk stomp loving fans. But I knew they had a big vision and was excited to see that record take them to top of the radio charts and to stages in front of audiences larger than most bands could dream of. All the while, they kept their humanity, being thoughtful people and faithful friends. This record features heavy hitters like Jon Bellion, Mutemath, and Kacey Musgraves, fresh off her Grammy win for Album of the year. The record is one of honesty and vulnerability, but also about possibility. I hope you love it.