People discover Chuck Ragan in different ways. Some people know Ragan from the pioneering punk act Hot Water Music he’s co-fronted for the past three decades. Others are aware of his successful solo career or the Revival Tour, a collection of traveling troubadours that included his peers like Frank Turner and the Gaslight Anthem’s Brian Fallon. Some folks may have even come across him from the successful fly fishing operation he runs out of Grass Valley, California. The one throughline through all this is the way that Ragan approaches everything with a level of honesty and integrity that can’t be faked—and that sentiment is undeniable on Love And Lore, his first solo collection in ten years and one that’s being released as Hot Water Music take a well-deserved victory lap for their breakout album Vows, which came out earlier this year. 

In some ways, it’s a miracle that Love And Lore even exists. The album was first conceptualized by Ragan in 2016, studio time was booked in 2019 and right before the recording was set to take place, COVID happened and all of Ragan’s musical projects had to be put on hold so he could focus on his fishing operation to provide for his family. “We got serious about making this album again in 2022, but I didn’t have a ton of time to devote to it between being physically exhausted and having a toddler,” he admits. “It was just chaos.” (This also includes a tree falling on guitarist/pedal steel/multi-instrumentalist Todd Beene’s house.) Eventually Love And Lore was recorded in early 2023 and the result is an album that showcases Ragan further transcending the “folk” label to create a collection of songs that see him stretching out as a songwriter to fearlessly explore new sonic territory. 

“I’m always trying to do something different because I feel like if we’re not searching, we’re not learning,” he says. “My writing approach seems to be whatever the song needs or wherever the song takes you, just let it breathe.” This sentiment is evident in songs like “Echo The Halls” which sees Ragan shaping his road-worn voice into something more melodic and measured over a backdrop of chiming pianos and phaser-friendly guitars. “Some of these songs are 15 years old and every once in a while something will pop out to me at the right time,” he explains. “It may have started a decade ago but for some reason whatever I sang or played just felt relevant to me in that moment, and that’s what I wanted to work on.” This quality adds a timeless quality to Love And Lore: In fact if it wasn’t for the polished production, the roots of “Winter” could be a previously undiscovered folk classic. As Ragan sings the refrain of “free your shadow,” there’s a multitude of meanings hidden in these three words. 

“We approached this record in a much different way in the sense that I played a lot of guitar on this album,” Beene explains, citing the more rock-oriented song “Wild In Our Ways‘ ‚ as an example. “I think that coming at this record with all the time that we put into it, we just sort of said, ‘Let’s just mentally start over with this record and do whatever we want to do and see how it feels,‘ ‚ he continues. While Ragan’s instantly recognizable voice sits at the forefront of the album, expert accompamient by Beene as well as Hot Water Music drummer George Rebelo and jazz-trained bassist (and Beene’s longtime collaborator) Spencer Duncan allows for this group of seasoned musicians to explore a fresh dynamic without feeling constrained by their other acts, which include everything from country-inspired rock to punk legends like the Bouncing Souls.

Lyrically, the album sees Ragan digging deep into his own psyche to craft lyrics that are brutally honest when it comes to themes such as relationships, family and the daily struggles that are an inherent part of living. “There’s so much heartbreak that comes with this life and I’m not just talking about myself, I’m talking about the people around me,” Ragan explains. “As someone who spends a lot of time away from my loved ones, there’s a lot of darkness at times and a lot of questions—and a lot of these songs are very much reflective of that and very much about therapy and finding peace and solace in nature, on the water and with loved ones, you know?” In that spirit, the stripped-down acoustic ballad “Reel My Heart” sees Ragan exploring the way balancing life on the road with his family obligations can still feel like a Sisyphean task much of the time.  

“I have a tradition that when we finish something, I want to sit down and put that record on and I want to listen to it… and it may be the last time I listen to it for a long time,” Ragan explains. “Because that to me is when there’s closure: All those songs, all those feelings, all those thoughts, all of those things I needed to get off my chest and out of my head—and I’m not talking about just me, but a whole village makes this happen. When I can put a record on and play both sides and take it off, stick it in the sleeve and put it on the shelf, then I can find some peace.”