James Hunter Six release lovesick single Gun Shy ahead of album

The James Hunter Six released “Gun Shy” with an official music video, putting a lovesick, tongue-tied single in front of listeners as the band’s first album on Easy Eye Sound reached the market. Off The Fence arrived on Jan. 16, 2026, on the Nashville label founded by Dan Auerbach.

Hunter has spent more than three decades in soul and rhythm-and-blues, and that longevity still shapes the appeal of his work. A Grammy-nominated singer and songwriter known for a gritty voice and sharp writing, Hunter broke wider in 2006 with People Gonna Talk, which earned a nomination for Best Traditional Blues Album at the 49th Grammy Awards. That kind of résumé matters in a streaming era where new acts are often forced to compete through polish, speed and constant reinvention.

“Gun Shy” was co-written by Hunter and bandmate Myles Weeks, and the album keeps that stripped-back emphasis in place. Off The Fence was recorded at Easy Eye Sound Studios in Nashville and mastered at Sterling Sound in the same city, details that point to a record built around performance and sonics rather than studio excess. The James Hunter Six have framed the song as a lovesick, tongue-tied cut, a description that fits Hunter’s long-running gift for turning restraint into drama.

The album also includes a guest appearance by Van Morrison on “Ain’t That a Trip,” adding another veteran voice to a project rooted in classic forms. That combination of names, along with the Easy Eye Sound connection, gives Off The Fence the profile of a record aimed at listeners who still want vocal character, band interplay and songs that do not arrive overworked. In a market saturated with algorithm-friendly pop, Hunter’s appeal lies in the opposite direction: music that sounds as if it was played by people in a room, not assembled to chase a playlist slot.