Guma - Poor Wanda

“Poor Wanda the hen / Not the first in line, but far from the end” — The third single from 2023’s Workingman’s Guma (released 10/20/23 on Gold Robot Records) lands among feathers and fur as songwriter T.J. Masters lovingly weaves between the stories of two animal companions, each out for themselves but inseparably linked by his amateur husbandry. With a twinkle-eyed lyricism that suggests an alternate history in which George Harrison went down the Mississippi in 1968 to write with John Hartford instead of up the Hudson to Dylan, “Poor Wanda” brims with pastoral tenderness woven into a dense and deftly-picked acoustic setting. One of four songs cut for the album in a single day with minimal overdubbing, the tune captures the energy of a bespoke band learning, developing, and recording a song all in the span of just a couple hours; an old school, live-in-the-room style of recording that has come to characterize most Guma releases. Watch a live version here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x-ZXgTK2BbU