Stripped Down, Gussied Up

Life is the intersection of empty and full, dark and light. This relationship, inherent in all things, is the underpinning of Pierce Edens’ new release. Over the last ten years, Edens has been drawing on his roots in Appalachian songwriting and blending them with the gritty rock and roll sounds that captivated him in his teenage years. Here again, Edens pulls together light and dark— Stripped Down Gussied Up is both haunting and fiery; a concoction of psychedelic-grunge, with Eden’s raw, tortured country bray at the helm.

Stripped Down, Gussied Up marked the initial collaboration between Pierce Edens and Kevin Reese, exploring a novel interpretation of what acoustic music means. The two ventured into crafting an “acoustic plus” sound that would define their musical direction going forward.

Following the disbandment of The Dirty Work due to life circumstances, Pierce partnered with Reese to embrace this new artistic direction. They recorded the album at Pierce’s renovated childhood home nestled deep within the Appalachian Mountains of Western North Carolina.

Under the guidance of producer Adam Johnson, the trio crafted minimalistic and raw arrangements driven by acoustic instruments, while experimenting with effects and tones to cultivate a distinctive ambiance. Matt Nielson contributed his digital wizardry to the project, as well, to gussy up the stripped down recordings, resulting in the album’s apt title, Stripped Down, Gussied Up.