On their debut album for Rounder Records, Breakfield prove that a simple name change can radically transform your entire world. After more than a decade of making music as Boy Named Banjo, the Nashville-bred four-piece decided to drop that moniker and rename themselves after a road that runs through Tennessee’s Cumberland Plateau: a vast and wild expanse of land where they spent countless hours wandering the woods and getting happily lost during their college years. In a major breakthrough for the band—vocalist/banjo player Barton Davies, guitarist/vocalist/ harmonica player William Reames, bassist Ford Garrard, and drummer Sam McCullough—the renaming quickly ignited a greater sense of freedom and brought a galvanizing new energy to their finespun form of folk-rock. With the arrival of their self-titled LP, Breakfield now reveal the full impact of their metamorphosis, offering up a body of work that’s both a bold leap forward and a glorious return to the joyful abandon of their earliest days.   Their fourth full-length effort, Breakfield came to life in collaboration with producer Sadler Vaden, longtime lead guitarist for Jason Isbell’s 400 Unit and an increasingly in-demand producer/co-writer whose credits include Amythyst Kiah and Morgan Wade. In a striking departure from 2023’s Dusk, the album strays further from the rootsy sensibilities of their formative years and drifts toward alt-country in its lush abundance of jangly riffs and high-powered rhythms. Mixed by four-time Grammy winner Matt Ross-Spang (Margo Price, John Prine), the 11-song LP also marks the truest representation yet of Breakfield’s electrifying live performance, harnessing the spirited vitality they’ve shown in taking the stage at leading festivals like Bonnaroo, headlining historic venues like the Grand Ole Opry, and sharing bills with the likes of Hank Williams Jr. and Old Crow Medicine Show. With its tracklist ranging from windows-down country-rock anthems to gorgeously stark and introspective ballads, Breakfield ultimately showcases a one-of-a-kind band fully in tune with their most adventurous instincts.