Sir Richard Bishop – “They Shall Take Up Serpents” 
by Andy
If there’s one thing that might dull the sting of 2025, it’s word of a new album from Sir Richard Bishop. The longtime RSTB fave, and Sun City Girls luminary returns with a new solo stint for Drag City this year, leading off the proceedings with the tangled new single “They Shall Take Up Serpents.” Riddled with Bishop’s blistering stringwork, the cut embraces the album’s mantra of Hillbilly Ragas. One part Appalachian fingerwork fireworks, and one part Eastern meditative zone, the song cuts its curves into the ears of the listener, never looking to soften the breakneck beauty of Bishop’s frenzied playing. The single opens up the journey on the new record, out September 26th from Drag City.
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