Recalling the modern, esoteric lyricism of Guy Clark and Billy Joe Shaver and the Southern traditions of old-time music and bluegrass, veteran Americana singer- songwriter-guitar player Ed Snodderly’s new album Chimney Smoke, (his 10th), is a hypnotic, slow-burning masterpiece of expert songcraft and storytelling. Often wistful and nostalgic, with unforgettable characters, indelible memories and a sense of place at its heart, Chimney Smoke bears the marks of a pugilist’s nimble agility and endurance but occasionally also delivers a knockout blow or two. Case in point: “Gone With Gone and Long Time,” a dazzling meditation on the stages of grief. “It’s a song about loss as much as it is emphatic about dark,” Snodderly says of the track, which features harmony vocals from Hall of Fame songwriter Gretchen Peters. Aided throughout by “the Shoestring Seven,” a who’s-who of veteran musicians including Shawn Camp, Steve Conn, John Gardner, Steve Hinson, Gary J. Smith, Chris Scruggs and Kenny Vaughan, the album also features singers Amythyst Kiah, Maura O’Connell, Malcolm Holcombe and more.