Nathan ‘Bullion’ Jenkins is one of those producers you can pick out from the first note – kind of a double threat as he sings as well in a sort of melodic witty deadpan that goes down so easily you find yourself coming back to fully digest the wordplay. There’s a harmonic brilliance that underpins his work; tracked vocals that fit brilliantly and seem to emerge at just the right moment, and a judicious use of space—a room-filling sound that lands in the pocket. There's always an attractive sense of playfulness.

I can say that TP has been on the Bullion tip for a while now (check this mix he did for us back in 2016). He’s had great run of things—from the Dilla/Beach Boys mashup to the Deek Recordings stuff (seriously go do some exploring on Discogs ). Only Nathan could do an ironic take on an evangelical kids tune (IYKYK) turning it into something with sparkle and fun.

So now he’s done his thing and produced great records for people like Laura Groves and Westerman. Give Carly Rae Jepson some credit for enlisting Nathan to sprinkle some of his magic dust over her glistening pop constructions – “Far Away” is bittersweet bliss, a euphoric synthpop hook and Bullion’s distinctive scatting vocals a perfect foil.

As I write this it's pouring rain, summer suddenly seems distant, and Bullion's new record Nearly is a lagniappe. A suite of vocal and instrumental songs varying in mood and emotion yet connected by a kind of gentle bittersweet thread. A summa of Nathan's production ideas. Synth and guitar solos trade off with vocals, everything is keenly structured. "Very Few Inspirations" is a great opener, a teasing amuse-bouche building from spare instrumentation into a wry lyric and wistfulness. "Roo" is a delight with its playfully cryptic lyrics and literary references (Robert Creeley, Joan Didion). "Francis Ford" we're in pop territory with a nice vocal turn from L Devine.

"OK Parsley" is a sunburnt Medi vibe with soaring wordlessness over aquatic arpeggios, synths stuttering into a moonlight night. "Young Shiver" calls out Maurice Sendak with some gorgeous tracked vocal harmonies from Nathan. "Forget Performer" has a lovely wonky outro you wish would go on for a bit. Instrumental "Applegene" has a kind of Durutti Column guitar vibe; Vini Reilly trading the Manchester Gloom for Lisbon. "101 Damnations" (haha) is classic synthpop territory--lovely guitar and melody that cry out for an extended dancefloor remix. It's a brilliant album to live in and return to.

Nearly is out NOW from Ghostly International and can be found at your local record store and on Bandcamp HERE.

See what Nathan is up to on Insta @bullionness.