Jeremy Nail - Fleeting Things EP (2025) Hi-Res

Austin area musician songwriter Jeremy Nail has just quietly released a beautiful, raw EP of songs that speak to your very soul, Fleeting Things. Hushed with subtle touches of atmospheric amplification of its signature introspective energy, this EP harnesses slightly more modern “indie folk” atmosphere, somehow managing to focus the sound in the most existentially personal way possible, which meshes with the rustic traditions of the traditional folk music and Americana tribe.

Fleeting Things is the product of a recording session with Nail (electric guitar, acoustic guitar, vocals), Charlie Sexton (acoustic guitar), and Betty Soo (vocals) playing and singing together with a few microphones, recording live – not even using headphones. Later Bonnie Whitmore played both electric and upright bass to ground the songs, and Kyle Crusham produced and also played percussion and added the keyboard that ultimately broadens the songs.

“Finally Free” is achingly sparse, languid and thoughtful. It’s possible that humans were meant to wander in solitude just as much as it’s too often claimed they need community and constant companionship. This song pinpoints the need to step out and take the journey alone, a sentiment that some of us identify with deeply, and for good reason. “Going nowhere, the walls there are thin, theres nothing more to prove ’til I’m out the door again and finally free.”

“Dry River” expresses the cycle of resignation and despair that begin to bind and entwine, when there’s “no rain, no wind, no end to this, you break and bend with a rusted fist.” Sometimes you feel like you can’t break out of the circle of bad luck, and it’s exhausting and hopeless.

“Before the Flood” continues the reflective style with touches of upright bass: “From the floor to the corner inside, every face I’ve known has come and gone, shattered glass left on the windowsill, towers fall through every thread I’ve sewn…. before the flood you looked up to stay.” On this one there are touches of sunlit joy appearing through the cracks.

The collection ends on a note of delicate optimism in “The Fleeting Things” even as the haunting spirit continues: “we all watched you disappear, taking solace in the street. Even when the choice is clear it’s the other side you seek… to see the space between us and the fleeting things.” It’s beautiful.

Every moment of this EP is authentically human. It’s a stripped down, reflective and chill vibe. The acoustic guitars are recorded gently, up close and personal, with bits of atmospheric keyboard creating a larger ambience for the lyrics to echo within. Words don’t really do it justice, you’ll have to listen. A real treasure.