With The Hurting Kind, John Paul White has crafted a stunning album that draws on the lush, orchestrated music made in Nashville in the early 1960s.

 

White lives in Florence, Alabama, not far from Muscle Shoals. He has cultivated a music career in Nashville for two decades, first as a songwriter, then half of The Civil Wars – a groundbreaking duo that won four Grammy Awards before disbanding in 2012.

 

Because The Civil Wars were so hard to categorize, White has earned a fanbase among indie rock listeners, folk audiences, Americana outlets and AAA radio. So, what will happen if people hear The Hurting Kind and call it country? “Well that doesn’t scare me in the least,” he says. “As a matter of fact, it kind of thrills me.”