The Bellows

With the release of his 2025 album The Bellows, Jefferson Pitcher found himself flying what seemed by then to be an unfashionable flag: an earnest, rough-at-the-edges blend of 20th century impulses regarding anthemic, heartfelt rock equal parts classic stomp and indie resistance to pop’s demands. Given the sonic reach of his various projects over three decades, it would be reductive to say there was a spirit of the mid to late 1990s still playing out, but right from its rich opening song “Carriage | Horse,” one senses the feeling of roads not taken by many since. Pitcher’s singing, warm and deep with a yearning catch, is matched by a strong rhythm section in Austin Hatch and Michael Anctil, the former also contributing occasional keyboards, and the resultant mix of songs, the first in a planned trilogy grouped around themes of home in a time of resource strain, burns with a strong energy start to stop. Particular highlights include “Aqueduct,” which has the feeling of a beautiful lost Mark Lanegan number in more than one way, and the brisk charge of “Cartpushers,” shifting into a moody, flowing coda.