On their self-titled debut album, Fancy Gap–the duo of singer/songwriter Stuart McLamb (The Love Language) and songwriter/producer Charles Crossingham–takes listeners on a journey that steers through life’s melodies with windows down. It’s a country-tinged, radio-ready sound, yet delves deep into universal themes. From stirring reflections on death and aging to the joyous celebrations of life, love, and triumph, every track on Fancy Gap captures different facets of the human experience. With a twang evoking the heartland and a widescreen perspective hinting at something greater, McLamb and Crossingham explore poignant moments of laughter and loss, enduring bonds of friendship, and the ups and downs of relationships.
McLamb has always been a heart-on-his-sleeve songwriter–one that’s also a traveler, tourer, hand-holder, relationship whisperer, and chronicler of beginnings and endings–and the bittersweetness that courses through The Love Language’s four albums is a voyage worth all the heartbreak. As he began working on the band’s fifth album in early 2020, McLamb took some early demos to Crossingham, whom he had known for nearly a decade but became closer with after moving back to Raleigh, North Carolina, that March. The pandemic struck in the midst of feeling out those early ideas; the two sheltered in Crossingham’s mountain cabin in Fancy Gap, Virginia, and questions of what life would look like when the world started over seeped into their late-night songwriting sessions. What began as a producer/artist collaboration blossomed into a close-knit co-writing project, rooted in Crossingham’s inspired belief and admiration in McLamb’s talents, and the musical kinship that the two had forged.
As the tracks were fleshed out, a collective idea of song and place became entwined in how the two wanted these compositions to sound and feel. “Charles and I wanted to make an album that sounded like the music we wanted to hear. It just so happens that at the time we were listening to a lot of classic ’90s radio rock and a lot of classic country radio 98.1 WBRF out of Galax, VA,” McLamb explains. Fancy Gap was born. “Over the next two years,” he adds. “We hustled through odd jobs to keep our heads above water while dedicating ourselves to crafting the best songs we could.” The music took shape during recording sessions at the cabin, as well as impromptu jam sessions where Crossingham played guitar and McLamb handled drums and vocals. “The lockdown had us feeling cooped up, so we just let loose and rocked out. Making music with a friend like that was a blast—it took me back to the early days of jamming in my parents’ garage with my younger brother,” McLamb recalls fondly. They would then refine their best ideas at the Fancy Gap cabin, utilizing a portable rack unit of Quad Eight preamps. “Many of the lead vocals were captured in the moment, often on the first or second take,” he says.
Reaching out to fellow artists and musicians became a priority as their excitement around the music continued to grow, and also felt like the thread to sew together the fabric of life after lockdown. “During the pandemic, we–and a lot of our artist friends who were struggling–needed a belief that there would be a light at the end of this,” Crossingham explained. “As the songs began to come together, we wanted to open our tent, and ask some of those friends and artists we respected to be a part of Fancy Gap with us.” As such, the album features masterful contributions from Sharon Van Etten (vocals on “Strawberry Moon”); Taking Back Sunday’s Adam Lazzara (vocals on “Filthy Habits”); Rami Jaffee (The Foo Fighters, The Wallflowers) on the Hammond B3 organ and Wurlitzer; acclaimed session guitarist Will McFarlane (Bonnie Raitt, The Mountain Goats, Etta James); and Jon Graboff on pedal steel ( Willie Nelson, Noel Gallagher, M. Ward, Norah Jones). Fancy Gap was finalized over five sessions with Grammy-award-winning engineer Craig Alvin (‘Album of the Year’ Kacey Musgraves’ Golden Hour), who mixed the album at Noble Steed Studios in Muscle Shoals, Alabama.