Under 21 with Guardian

A native of West Virginia, Charles Wesley Godwin makes cinematic country-folk that's as gorgeous and ruggedly raw as his homeland. It's Appalachian Americana, rooted in Godwin's sharp songwriting and backwoods baritone. With 2021's "How the Mighty Fall", he trades the autobiographical lyrics that filled Seneca— his acclaimed debut, released in 2019 and celebrated by everyone from Rolling Stoneto NPR's Mountain Stage— for a collection of character-driven songs about mortality, hope, and regret, putting an intimate spin on the universal concerns we all share."I started a family around the time Seneca came out,"he remembers.

"After my son was born, I remember sitting in the hospital, thinking about how that very experience would eventuallybecome one of those life moments that flash before my eyes when I'm old. I realized that time is passing, and my time will pass, too. Becoming a father made it all sink in."


Those realizations quickly found their way into his writing. If Seneca painted the picture of a southernson in the middle of American coal country, then "How the Mighty Fall"— produced once again by Al Torrence — zooms out to focus on wider themes of time, transience, and the choices we make. Songs like "Strong" "Bones" and "Blood Feud" are roadhouse roots-rockers, driven forward by fiery fiddle, lap steel and plenty of electric guitar. Godwin does most of his painting with more subtleshades, though, often waiting until "How the MightyFall's" softer moments to make his biggest impact. On "Cranes of Potter," he delivers a murder ballad with finger-plucked acoustic guitar and elegiac melodies, unspooling the narrative with a storyteller's restraint. Meanwhile, "Temporary Town" finds him returning to West Virginia after spending five years in the midwest, celebrating his homecoming not with barely-contained enthusiasm, but with measured excitement, light percussion, and a steadily-building arrangement.

"I try to write with a sense of place," he explains. "Up until now, that setting has always been my home, but I don't think this new album is as locally-focused as my previous release. I hope these songs will connect with people wherever they live. The son of a coal miner father and a schoolteacher mother, Godwin began forging those musical connections in 2013, while studying abroad in Estonia. He'd learned the acoustic guitar several years earlier, looking for a diversion after failing to secure a spot on the West Virginia University football team. Halfway across the world in Estonia, he started strumming songs in his apartment,summoning the sights and sounds of West Virginia for a group of new friends who'd never laid eyes on the state. Fans were made, gigs were booked, and Godwin launched his full-time music career shortly after graduation.


http://www.charleswgodwin.com/