Feature by Caia Cupolo
Before stepping into the spotlight as a solo artist, Nashville-based singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist James Eichman honed his craft in the background. For years, Eichman has been a familiar force within the city’s indie scene, supporting artists like Annie DiRusso, Hannah Cole, and Emma Ogier, as well as being a member of bands like Baby Wave, McKay, and superhero. Now, after building momentum with a string of standalone singles and self-recorded EPs, he steps forward at only 21 with his debut full-length album, St. Catherine Street, which was just released on Aug. 20.
“[My first record] has always been a huge milestone that I’ve looked forward to, and I feel like I made something that I’m really proud of. I feel like my songs are finally at a place where I’m like ‘this feels like me,’” Eichman tells us.
Recorded over just a few weeks in the winter, at collaborator Josef Kuhn’s home studio (a change from James’ self-produced earlier work), the album balances the nostalgic warmth of early 2000s indie folk with the rooted storytelling of traditional Americana. Lyrically, Eichman approaches his craft less like an autobiography, and instead “synthesizes [his] own experience into fictional stories that don’t have anything to do with me.” Though the scenarios and details are often fictionalized, the underlying themes- grief, introspection, and a search for transformation- reflect genuine emotional truths, and the imagery is inspired by the small town of Natchez, Mississippi, where James spent a lot of time in his youth, and where the real St. Catherine Street is located.
The past two years have been constant touring for Eichman, reshaping his typical songwriting routine.
“It can be tough because it’s hard to find time to sit down with a guitar,” he said. “There have been times when I’ve written in the van and gotten some cool songs that way. I feel that tour is such a stimulating thing that it can be inspiring to not be home and be out and having different experiences.”
Life on the road offers a constant stream of fleeting landscapes, late-night stops, and collaborations with friends. For Eichman, touring provided both an intense musical boot camp and a quiet brewing of a new voice that feels the most authentic.
Singles like “4am” and “Smoking Again” offered an early look into the album’s sonic direction, blending understated acoustic guitar arrangements, steady rhythms, and clear, expressive vocals. Tracks range from slow-burning character studies to more energetic anchor points.
“I’m stoked because I feel like there’s a good bit of variance. I feel like you can hear a lot of the different inspirations that I had on the album from song to song,” he said.
St. Catherine Street is streaming everywhere now, and marks a clear evolution from sideman to central voice, presenting a fully realized collection of songs that anchor character-focused narrative and examination of the American South within grounded, reflective acoustic arrangements.
You can next see James Eichman live Sept. 21 at The Basement, opening for Fat, Evil Children (get tickets here).
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