Romford to Nashville is hardly the most well-trodden of paths, but for Spencer Cullum it was a way of getting to the essential heart of pedal steel, what was then and remains to this day his musical raison d'être.
Growing up in the large East London town brought him early exposure to classic pub rock by way of his father such as Dr. Feelgood and Thin Lizzy, and farther-flung music by way of his mother, such as Talking Heads and Lou Reed. However, it was learning pedal steel from legendary English player B. J. Cole that set him on the path he still walks today. After touring with Nashville-based groups and hearing tales of “seasoned Nashville steel players”, the young musician upped sticks and found a “nice little crowd of weirdos” in his chosen city.
Cullum has always maintained a somewhat silent presence - even now saying “I still want to hide behind my pedal steel in fear” - but 2020 saw him release his debut solo effort, Spencer Cullum’s Coin Collection. Despite his project with Jeremy Fetzer, Steelism, showing off more of his talents, never before had he felt the limelight so firmly on him.
Although Coin Collection’s modus operandi was "a very quintessential English folk record, but with really good Nashville players”, Cullum says of …Coin Collection 2 that “I wanted to be different."
Though you can pick out the odd similarity to other things here and there - The Beach Boys’ Friends LP, perhaps, or The Incredible String Band, or Joni Mitchell - the thing is decidedly Cullum’s own. The beautifully sun-kissed, English country garden, bees-buzzing-round-lager atmosphere has remained, but complicated, weirded, deepened.
This series has powered the last five years of Cullum’s solo career, and, come 27th March 2026, Coin Collection 3 will mark its final iteration.
With newfound wisdom and direction in tow, Cullum feels at ease closing this chapter. escape from the noise of the world, from the spew of hatred and vitriol that has come to soundtrack the present day
Coin Collection 3 doesn’t mark the end of his solo endeavors; it only buttons up this chapter of discovering, gathering, and safekeeping.
