Israel Nash - Topaz (2021)

Nash is sitting outside in the sun, thinking. It's something he does often, looking out over endless Texas hills that surround his family's rural home. He's thought a lot over the last several years about music - not only how to make it, but why. What is the endgame for Nash, a critically acclaimed rock-and-roll groovesman, personally? Nash's magnificent new album, 'Topaz', is what happened when he found his answers. Nash recorded the album over the course of about a year in the Quonset hut studio he built about 600 feet from his house in the Texas Hill Country. While musician friends from nearby Austin contributed to the project, 'Topaz' marks the first album Nash has recorded mostly on his own, both taking his time and relishing his newfound access to immediacy, punching the red button moments after an idea hit.