Nashville trio Shrunken Elvis—comprised of Spencer Cullum, Sean Thompson, and Rich Ruth—have shared their dreamlike new single, “K-House,” a mesmerising taste of their forthcoming debut album. Born from long European drives and cold winter jam sessions, the group unites three of Nashville’s most seasoned and exploratory musicians for a project that prizes intuition over ambition.
The new track, “K-House,” opens with atmospheric, mallet-like timbres that give way to sharp, psychedelic guitar riffing. A downtempo dance groove eventually permeates the mist, allowing the sound to land somewhere between dreamy kosmische and the soundtrack to an ’80s cop show. It’s an immersive soundscape that showcases the group’s unique chemistry, honed through years of individual work. Cullum is an in-demand pedal steelist (Angel Olsen, Lambchop), Thompson is a veteran of the city’s DIY scene, and Ruth is a master of ambient, synth-infused compositions with his solo project on Third Man Records.
This collaborative spirit is the core of their upcoming self-titled album, Shrunken Elvis, out September 5th via Western Vinyl. The project was guided by a simple philosophy of “no goals, just ideas,” prioritising the creation of a unified musical terrain over individual showcases. Having spent much of their careers as side musicians, the trio embraced the opportunity to create purely for the sake of curiosity. Influenced by everything from Can and KLF to Alice Coltrane and the films of Kurosawa, their sound was first forged in the back of a tour van traversing Europe. Now, recorded and mixed by Jake Davis (William Tyler), Shrunken Elvis captures that spontaneous energy—music made without expectation, but intensely alive.
Pre-Order/Save: Shrunken Elvis