Ross Adams - Escaping Southern Heat (2021)

If you detect a certain power behind Ross Adams then that could be because he is backed here by the 400 Unit – guitarist Sadler Vaden, bassist Jimbo Hart, keyboardist Derry Deborja, and drummer Chad Gamble. And that’s quite appropriate because ‘Ease Me into Dying‘ has a certain desperation to it that isn’t so far from Jason Isbell. It’s a song that intertwines the death of romance with images of a dying southern industrial landscape. The song comes from Ross Adams’ third album ‘Escaping Southern Heat‘ which is released on September 10th.

But what, you ask, is the 400 Unit connection. Well…that’s a tale.

Adams first met The 400 Unit over a decade ago while sneaking backstage at Jason Isbell shows to help load gear and talk shop with bassist Jimbo Hart. Ten years later, Hart and Adams teamed up to record ‘Escaping Southern Heat’ at East Avalon Recorders in Muscle Shoals, Alabama, with Hart recruiting the remainder of The 400 Unit to round out the sessions. And to add even more weight to the backing band Ross Adams tapped former American Aquarium alum Whit Wright to add his signature pedal steel flourishes throughout the album. It was a quick session as Adams explains “We recorded everything in about three days. I had about twelve songs all written out and we did about three takes of each with the guys and they just banged it out. I don’t think I’ve played with a more talented band in all my life.”