Today’s country ecosystem can seem to be dominated by two camps. In one, you’ve got the huge stars with inescapable — and frequently indelible — radio hits: Kenny Chesney, Jason Aldean, or Carrie Underwood. In the other, you’ve got artists who can’t get on country radio but get the lion’s share of the press attention due to their traditionalist leanings — Sturgill Simpson, Jason Isbell, or Angaleena Presley.
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But relying on this dichotomy leaves out a number of country artists that incorporate something from both camps: take Sundy Best, who played a New York City show on March 18 at Mercury Lounge in support of their recently released Salvation City album. This band centers around Nick Jamerson (guitar, vocals) and Kris Bentley on percussion. (Live, they added Stan Nickell on lead guitar and Teddy Weckbacher on a keyboard.) At a time when country radio loves hefty programmed beats, Bentley has moved towards the opposite extreme — he plays a cajon, basically a wooden box, instead of a drum kit.
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That doesn’t mean that these guys are genre purists boldly turning their back on the music of the present. Sundy Best songs exist near the intersection of country, Tom Petty (the took the stage to “American Girl”), and pillow-soft rock. During their show at the Mercury Lounge, they sometimes evoked Kings Of Leon, sometimes Sturgill Simpson, sometimes older stuff like the Band — Sundy Best covered a verse and chorus from “The Weight” — or American Beauty-era Grateful Dead. When country gets discussed in terms of just two categories — commercial juggernauts vs. traditional torch bearers — no space remains for a group of this breadth.
Bentley’s cajon in particular adds an unusual texture to Sundy Best’s music. It strips the percussion down to its most basic rhythmic elements, forcing listeners to rewire their ears. Who needs those fancy snare drums and cymbals? This is just a guy slamming away on a wooden box, which can simulate a sputtering car engine or a distant military parade. When necessary, Bentley sent a song charging forward, banging on the center of the cajon with two hands like a child demanding attention at a birthday party. (His long hair — which, due to the room’s air flow, kept flying behind him — served as the band’s fifth member.)
Salvation City, which came out in December, shows Sundy Best’s wide-ranging interests, from “Piece Of Work,” which Jamerson referred to as their “outlaw country song,” to “Shotgun Lady,” or as Jamerson called it, “our cool-ass mother—er song.” (He knows the value of a good introduction.) “Southern Boy” offered an affirmation of the band’s roots, while the wistful “Four Door” displayed the emotional impact and clean architecture of a top 40 ballad.
It’s harder to hold attention with a ballad then with an uptempo romper, but the slow tear-jerkers are where Jamerson is most effective. His voice is clear and powerful — at the Mercury Lounge, he loved to hold long, loud notes, filling the small room, more grainy and explosive in a live setting than he is on recording. In addition to “Four Door,” Jamerson demonstrated his vocal powers on two older songs, “Painted Blue” and “Lily.” He was at his most commanding during “Lily,” wailing and elongating words until they expressed pure anguish.
Back to the cajon: the portability of the instrument allows for an unusual stage setup. If Bentley was behind a drum kit, he would almost definitely be at the back of the stage, making it the singer’s band visually. But Bentley plays front and center, right next to Jamerson. This suggests an equal partnership between voice and rhythm — Sundy Best illustrate the virtues of balance.