Mustang Island, the third album from Austin-based band Little Mazarn, is a gentle force. Waves of grief crest like surf on the Texas coast. Wild horses break through long-shuttered gates, only to come back around. Lead songwriter, vocalist, and multi-instrumentalist Lindsey Verrill (she/her) joins bandmates Jeff Johnston (he/him) and Carolina Chauffe (they/them). The ten-song collection continues work with Dear Life Records. A full-throated romp through the capabilities of community-minded songcraft, Mustang Island is both naturalistic and futuristic, completely recasting Little Mazarn’s origins in primitive folk. Instead, the band reaches towards sonic experimentation and spacious expansion.

Lindsey’s heart-opening vocals and Jeff’s singing saw, both trademarks of the project, mix with unexpected bombastic drums, dissonant synthesizers, and a chorus of orchestral oddities. This mid-career ode dances confidently in the creative liberties granted by decades in the game – more dazzlingly lively, and honestly somber, than ever before.

The band’s crossroads branch across prominent Southern outsider music: On cello, Lindsey has recorded with Patty Griffin and Dana Falconberry. Jeff has played in Bill Callahan’s band, as well as with Li’l Cap'n Travis and Orange Mothers. Carolina is known for prolific solo project hemlock. Little Mazarn has also collaborated with Lomelda to release their last EP, Honey Island General Store (2023), following past LPs Texas River Song (2022) and Io (2019).

Alongside silliness and reverence, including covers from Kate Wolf and Bob Wills & His Texas Playboys, grief directs much of Mustang Island. Lindsey left her job of seventeen years teaching cello at a local school. Recording also aligned with the passing of Jeff’s father, a career educator in Jeff and Lindsey’s hometown of Dallas.

“Grief, and the avoidance of grief, is a big part of being human,” says Lindsey. “You make a choice, and then you grieve for the other choice. Or you finish a meal and literally grieve that it was so good. If you really befriend grief, you’re like, ‘Oh, it’s here, in this pancake, which I loved so much that I ate the whole thing, and now it’s gone.’”

Bio by Rachel Rascoe

Little Mazarn is Carolina Chauffe, Jeff Johnston, and Lindsey Verrill
Also featuring Gary Newcomb, Walter Nichols, Mari Maurice, Nora Predey, Roberto Sanchez, and Sowmya Somanath.
Produced by Little Mazarn and Britton Beisenherz
Recorded and Mixed by Britton Beisenherz at Ramble Creek Studios in Austin, Texas
Mastered by Sarah Register
Cover painting by Lee Barber
Cover Photo by Jake Dapper
All songs by Little Mazarn except ‘New New San Antonio Rose’ based off of the song
‘New San Antonio Rose’ by Bob Wills and ‘The Great Divide’ by Kate Wolf

The band would like to thank Frank, Jon, and Michael at Dear Life Records, our many inspiring friends and supportive community, Casio keyboards, Nora, Sowmya, Walter, Gary, Mari, and Roberto for their beautiful contributions, Matt Kinsey for the lending of instruments, Will Johnson and the Wire Mountain crew for high vibes, Garrett T. Capps for boundless love and support, and very special thanks to all my students that have ever been and most especially to Cameron, Jay, Indigo, and Pia and their families.

In loving memory of Robert Lynn Johnston 1940-2024