Randall Bramblett is a lifer. For decades, he's explored the deep corners and outer orbits of American roots music, creating a southern sound that's every bit as eclectic as its maker. That sound reaches a new milestone with Paradise Breakdown, the thirteenth record from a musician hailed as "one of the South's most lyrical and literate songwriters" by Rolling Stone. The album finds Bramblett taking stock of past and present, embracing all the contradictory elements — love and loss; joy and disappointment; nostalgia and mortality — of a career dedicated to creation.

"I've had the realization that this particular life isn't gonna go on forever," says the 70-something musician, who launched his solo career with 1975's That Other Mile while moonlighting as a multi-instrumentalist for acts like Gregg Allman and Sea Level. "It's true that everything ends, but things are still really beautiful, too. I'm healthy. I'm happy. I have a lot to be grateful for."

Paradise Breakdown is out now via Strolling Bones Records.