Before there was an album, a tour or even a band called Ponder the Albatross, there was a porch in Carbondale, Colorado, an old nylon-string guitar and the unfamiliar sound of a mandolin cutting through the evening air. Years later, that small encounter sits at the center of “1879,” one of the most personal songs on the folk-Americana band’s forthcoming album, Over Hill & Hollow, due October 2, 2026.
For frontman and songwriter Josh Bower, the song is less a nostalgic reconstruction than a marker in the road. It captures the moment his songwriting began moving somewhere new.
A mandolin changed the direction
The origins of “1879” reach back to evenings Bower spent playing guitar beneath the Colorado sky. During one of those nights, a friend introduced him to the mandolin. The instrument stayed with him.
Months later, after relocating to Austin, Texas, to pursue music more seriously, Bower bought his first mandolin and began teaching himself how to play it. The learning curve was steep. The inspiration arrived faster.
“It sounded ancient,” Bower recalls. “Like it had existed long before I found it.”
From that feeling came two words: “In 1879.”
The phrase became the first stone in what would eventually grow into one of the defining songs of his early career.
Following the song before the moment disappeared
Bower completed the track in a single writing session, choosing to stay with the melody rather than letting everyday distractions interrupt it. The result carries the qualities that have become central to Ponder the Albatross: acoustic detail, narrative songwriting and imagery that feels weathered rather than ornamental.
There is an old-world quality to the mandolin, but “1879” is not an exercise in historical imitation. The instrument becomes a doorway. Its tone pulls the song toward memory, distance and the feeling of encountering something that seems older than the person playing it.
That connection also places the song comfortably inside the broader language of Americana music, where folk traditions, country storytelling and roots instrumentation frequently overlap without clean borders.
The song that started connecting with audiences
More important than its origin story was what happened when Bower began playing the song for other people. “1879” became one of the first compositions that consistently landed with live audiences.
That reaction helped confirm a direction. The mandolin was no longer simply a new instrument. It had altered Bower’s approach to writing and, eventually, contributed to the formation of Ponder the Albatross.
“For this song to finally be released into the world feels like everything has come full circle,” Bower says. “It’s a reminder of every step along the way, every person who believed in me, and every moment that made this record possible.”
Over Hill & Hollow carries the road with it
That sense of movement runs directly into Over Hill & Hollow. Due October 2, the album brings together songs shaped by perseverance, human connection and the long route between one version of a life and the next.
“1879” sits near the emotional center of that story because it reaches back to the point before the journey had a clear destination. The song remembers the porch, the instrument and the instinct to keep following an unfamiliar sound.
Bower also credits people who remained close throughout that process, including Jordan Lauer, whom he describes as his “lighthouse,” and River Bower, whose support helped bring the story back to its beginning.
The story leaves the porch and heads onto the road
Ponder the Albatross will support Over Hill & Hollow with a multi-state run beginning in Colorado before moving through Arkansas, Oklahoma and Tennessee. The route gives the songs a fitting next life: carried from room to room rather than left inside the studio.
Ponder the Albatross 2026 tour dates
- August 27 — The Trinidad Lounge — Trinidad, Colorado
- August 28 — Motel SOCO — Pagosa Springs, Colorado
- August 29 — Gore Fest — Kremmling, Colorado
- September 1 — The Bear’s Den — Conway, Arkansas
- September 2 — Ned’s — Tahlequah, Oklahoma
- September 3 — The Barefoot Ball at Ozark Folk Festival — Eureka Springs, Arkansas
- September 4 — Downtown Tavern — Jackson, Tennessee
- September 5 — Dee’s Country Cocktail Lounge — Madison, Tennessee
A beginning that finally has a release date
The scale of “1879” is small by design. One instrument. One melody. One writing session that refused to be ignored.
Yet that quiet beginning eventually led to a band, an album and a road stretching across several states. For Bower, releasing the song now means allowing listeners to hear the point where that path first changed direction.
Over Hill & Hollow arrives October 2, 2026. Listen to “1879” on Spotify, and find tour information, new music and further updates through the official Ponder the Albatross website.