James Curley album "Mortal" Review.

Artist: James Curley 

Album: Mortal

Released: 2026

Artist Website: https://jamescurley.com/

James Curley is a wonderful singer/songwriter in the folk genre. His music is steeped in classic folk with some hints of old Nashville. Musically flirting with the old country sound that was being produced before Broadway in Nashville became the tourist trap it is today. His music is mature, thoughtful and relaxing at every turn. This ten song set Mortal, clocks in at 35 minutes and is a delightful introduction to this man's memorable performances. 

The opening cut Anna Tried sets the mood for the entirety of the record. It encapsulates the simple production and a compelling lyric. Both key ingredients of the folk genre. The guitar is recorded impeccably and the voice is aged and relaxed. Lyrically it appears that the song is about a losing battle with addiction. A battle that is all too often misunderstood as someone that wasn't trying to be healthy. This song suggests that the opposite is more likely the truth.  

Better Angels is the first single to be released, and understandably so. It is a call for common ground to resolve the highly debated gun control issue. What is most interesting about the song is Curley doesn't take a side in the debate, but instead asking for "Better Angles" to find common ground before there is another shooting. His message is not lost on this writer. A message that simply suggests there HAS to be a better way than the status quo. No matter what side of the debate one falls on. 

When The Universe Throws You A Bone is another stand out track. A waltz feel gives it a bounce that is a nice cross between vintage country and something that almost flirts with Irish traditional songs. The presence of a larger band on this one doesn't go unnoticed. It adds a dynamic that lifts the album as a whole. The alternating bass line suggests there is a stone cold country picker hiding just below the surface. A storytelling, country picking artist of yesteryear is shining through quite brightly on this track. 

This album is my first exposure to James Curley. After multiple listens I found myself digging into his back catalog, exploring both There Used To Be A Train and Manufactured Meaning. His catalog stands up to repeated listens without becoming tiresome. If you are a fan of classic sounding folk, James Curley is an artist that deserves attention. His new record is well crafted and recorded in every way.  I hope it finds the listeners it deserves. Check his full catalog out... I promise you it will be time well spent! 

Check out the interview below....

Tell us the brief history of your band or musical career.

I’ve been a ‘journeyman’ performer for 52 years, and writing songs for most of that time, but didn’t release a record until 26 years ago and Mortal is my 4th album in that timeframe. So, I’m a late bloomer and not prolific, both by choice. I’ve played my own music and the music of countless other songwriters in that time both solo and in a few dozen bands, mostly in Chicago but also in Philadelphia, Houston and Austin when I lived in those places.

Who are your musical and non-musical influences?

Musically, it’s Steve Goodman, John Prine, Ralph McTell, Guy Clark, Jackson Browne, Joni Mitchell, James Taylor, Dan Navarro as well as a lot of Chicago local songwriters I’ve hung with over the years. Non-musically varies widely: Viktor Frankl, Stephen Jay Gould, Kurt Vonnegut, Gene Roddenberry, JRR Tolkien, WB Yeats, Philip Larkin, Saul Bellow to name a few.

What album has had the greatest impact on your life as a musician?

That’s a tough question. So many records still live in my head almost daily, but if I had to name one it would be ‘Late for The Sky’ by Jackson Browne. I wore the needle out playing that one, as we used to say.

Is there a particular song that has resonated with you for a long time?

“For A Dancer” from that same album. I grew up in a rough neighborhood in South Philadelphia, and we were losing friends to addiction, violence, and other things in our teens and early 20s. That song became a bit of an anthem in my head and probably lives in some way in the tracks of this record ‘Mortal’. I don’t think I’m obsessed with my own mortality, but I hate that I lose people I love and that song by Jackson just slays me to this day.

What’s your favorite accomplishment as a musician thus far? 

It was the recognition I got for a song from my 2012 release ‘There Used To Be a Train’. I had written and recorded a song called ‘Goodman’s Shoes’ but it wasn’t a focus track for promotion. It was personal, about the death of my father and taking solace in Steve Goodman’s song ‘My Old Man’. When I sent it out, it got noticed by Rich Warren at WFMT who knew Steve well personally, and it’s fair to say that song got me noticed in the Folk arena in a way I never anticipated because Rich was influential in that world. I just realized that’s also a song about losing someone so maybe I’ve found my artistic territory in loss and mortality. That’s interesting to me now.

Tell me about your favorite performance in your career.

I opened for Patty Larkin at a venue in Evanston IL called Space, and ‘There Used To Be A Train’ was about to be released so I had been rehearsing those songs and showcased them for the first time as a body of work. There was professional videography of the show, and I just had one of those nights where the flow between myself and the audience was special and I felt like we were all inhabiting those songs rather than I was ‘presenting’ them. You can’t force those moments, so it remains special to me.

What's the best piece of advice another musician ever gave you?

“The only difference between you and someone making records is that they’re making records and you’re not’.

What's new in the recording of your music?

Sparse production values. My three prior records had far more influence of being in bands at the time, so multiple guitars, bass, keyboards, drums, harmonica, other instrumentation and lots of backup vocals. That was my energy at the time. Three years after ‘Train’ released, my late wife was diagnosed with a very aggressive cancer and died not long afterwards. I tried to get going in bands again, and briefly did so when I remarried to Ilsabe Oconnell, also a songwriter. But I lost the interest in lugging gear to venues etc. so I started just gigging with a guitar on my own. Most of these songs on ‘Mortal’ are introspective, and when I took them into the studio my producer, John Abbey had me play and sing them live into two vintage microphones, no multi-tracking or overdubbing my own performance. Then John added some ‘sparkle’ to the songs with just a few players and I love the sparse sound of it compared to my prior three albums.

How has your music changed over the years?

I don’t hear songs as ‘band songs’ anymore. I like that. Something I always loved about John Prine’s debut album was that simplicity. I feel like I’ve arrived there when he started out there.

What inspires you to write the music you write? 

Lots of things, but mostly contemplation. I think about humanity a lot. I’ve written songs about evolutionary theory (Darwin’s Tribe), war (Poet Laureate, On An Ordinary Day), belief (Our Lady of Rogers Park, Halleluia You Never Know) and of course mortality figures largely as previously mentioned. I’m a backstage philosopher at heart, more than a brokenhearted fool or whatever.

What made you want to play the instrument you play? 

I fell in love with the acoustic guitar (my first guitars were electric) jamming outside with my pals in South Philly growing up. We could lug them anywhere in the neighborhood, take them hitchhiking to folk festivals, and play songs by CSN&Y, The Grateful Dead, etc. and no need for wires or outlets. When I started writing I never once tried to write on an electric guitar. To this day, the sound of someone playing a great acoustic guitar just lights me up. And sitting behind a Martin or a Collings while I play it is hypnotic to me. I’ve never tired of the possibilities.

How does your latest album differ from any of your others in the past? 

Asked and answered, your Honor! (just kidding, feel free to delete this question as redundant to what’s above).

How are you continuing to grow musically?

I listen to a lot of new music. I think it’s critical not to get stuck only with the memories of songs that hit me hard when I was just discovering music. As a Board member of Folk Alliance Region Midwest, I get to hear all the artists auditioning to play the conference, and I attend the national Folk Alliance conference annually. There are so many incredible artists just in my little part of the playground. I soak it up and hope it leaks out in my songs somehow.

Are there any musicians who inspire you that are not famous? What qualities do you admire about them?

So many. Just here in Chicago I’m close to people like Sons of The Never Wrong, Robin and Jenny Bienemann, John Abbey (also my producer) and outside Chicago my musical pals like Dan Weber, Dan Navarro – I could keep naming people – but what is inspiring is seeing them dedicated to producing and performing their art regardless of audience reach. That inspires me to keep writing, despite my choice not to be prolific.

Do you have any anxiety about performing live? 

None. I love live performance and if I was any good at self-promotion I’d be doing a lot more of it.

If you had to choose one... live performance or studio work, which do you prefer and why? 

Live performance. The magic between audience and performer is humanity at its best. I love the studio but if I had to pick one, it would be playing live.

What do you like most about your new album?

That I dedicated it to the women who have so deeply enriched by life on this planet – my mom, my late wife, my niece, my daughter and my wife Ilsabe.

What is the best way to stay updated on current news; gigs, releases, etc.

Jamescurley.com – sign up for email.