Nothing beats a well-written song, with strong playing and topped off by a voice brimming with soul and character. All the boxes are ticked on this new single (and the accompanying album) from Nathan Kalish.

‘Delta Woman’ comes from Kalish’s tenth album Songs For Nobody. It’s pure country but it also contains a strong streak of soul and at its mid-point it drops a tab and heads into cosmic Americana territory, like a lysergic desert dream. That makes sense when you read that Rolling Stone called his previous album, I Want To Believe, the “heartland rock and alt-country soundtrack to looking for UFOs in Roswell, New Mexico.”

‘Delta Woman’ was born from a chance visit to a friend’s apartment in Stockholm, where he got to explore their vast collection of Elvis Presley and Johnny Cash memorabilia. Among the items were a handwritten set of unfinished lyrics from Cash, which Kalish found himself drawn to. He took what Cash had started and completed the song in his own style.

Songs for Nobody was recorded at Nashville’s Trace Horse Studio. Finding inspiration from acts like Darrell Scott and Daniel Romano, Kalish recruited locally-based talent that includes acclaimed guitarist Laur Joamets (Sturgill Simpson, Drivin N Cryin) and pedal steel aficionado Adam Kurtz (American Aquarium, Joshua Ray Walker). The pedal steel and backing vocals were particular highlights of this track when we first heard it.